Case File: Vongola Famiglia
by WhiteAngel128
Summary: In order to solve a serial murder case, Namimori's Chief of police, Sawada Tsunayoshi, must go undercover…as a Mafioso. He soon finds out he's in for way more than he'd bargained for. AU G27 1827
1. Chapter 1

**Ciaossu! WhiteAngel128 here with another fanfic. Ah, it's good to be back. :) This idea came to me when one of my friends asked me to help her write a crime-themed story for English class. Took me awhile to get everything sorted, but at last, here it is. Well, I don't think there's anything else I need to say at the moment, so I'll leave you to enjoy the story!**

**Summary: In order to solve a serial murder case, Chief of police, Sawada Tsunayoshi, must go undercover…as a Mafioso. He soon finds out he's in for way more than he'd bargained for. AU G2718**

**Pairing(s): G27, 1827, slight 6927. Might even turn into All27, can't help it, Tsuna's too cute. **

**Warnings: Shonen ai, malexmale, language (thanks to certain people).**

**Disclaimer: After buying a whole lot of KHR merchandises, I'm broke. Hence, there's no way I can own the amazing Katekyo Hitman Reborn. **

_Italics _= **Thoughts, also emphasis at times.**

Chapter 1

Inside one small office of Namimori police force, behind a desk stacked with columns after columns of documents, was Sawada Tsunayoshi, furiously scanning through and signing papers after papers. He'd been doing this for god knows how long. How could there be so much paperwork, especially when he was the Chief of police of a peaceful town like Namimori?! This definitely had something to do with his ex-home tutor, yet still very Spartan and sadistic, Reborn!

Speaking of the devil, the brunet peeked over the top of a paper around the room, he was nowhere in sight. Good. Tsuna let out a relieved sigh and lowered the document back onto the desk. Since Reborn was not here, might as well take a rest. Deciding to take the chance, Tsuna immediately slumped against the desk, resting his head on his arms. Before he could even count to ten, a small 'click' was heard and a cold object was pressed against his head.

"Sleeping on the job, Dame-Tsuna? You've got guts." A familiar suave voice asked.

Tsuna groaned and reluctantly returned to a sitting position while cursing Reborn and his ability to appear out of thin air. He glared – more like pout to the other's eyes – at the man. "Come on, Reborn! Can't you let me rest for a few minutes? I've been doing this since morning! You didn't even let me eat breakfast!"

"If you still have enough energy to whine, get back to work. Hurry up, before I let you eat lead." Reborn moved the gun to in front of Tsuna's mouth for emphasis.

The brunet let out a shriek and immidiately started signing the papers like his life depended on it, which it did. Reborn smirked in satisfaction, his gun changed back into Leon, the green chameleon, and moved to the sofa against the wall to resume drinking his espresso. After finishing the entire cup, he decided to go check on the other members of the force. "Dame-Tsuna, remember, slack off before finishing your work and you'll die." Letting the threat hang in the air, the older man adjusted his black fedora and left the room, making sure to lock the door behind him.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon, Tsuna tried to focus on his work, but failed miserably. Paperwork can be incredibly boring, especially when you've been stuck in an office reading them for hours without rest. In order to keep himself awake, Tsuna let his thoughts wander – while still occasionally scribbling – to how on Earth did he ended up here doing this job.

The beginning would probably be when Reborn showed up at his doorstep eight years ago when he was in the first year of middle school, saying that he was an acquaintance of his father from Italy and his new home tutor. Back then, he was nicknamed 'Dame-Tsuna' – though Reborn still called him that – since he was pretty much useless at everything. So throughout his remaining school years, the older man had 'tutored' Tsuna using methods that can only described as insane tortures. Even though Tsuna's physical strength improved exponentially from Reborn's teaching, he still only managed barely passing grades for his studies. It was then that his home tutor suggested joining the police force. The job did sound quite appealing, and all Tsuna really wanted was a steady job anyway, so he agreed.

To Tsuna's surprise, he got the job quite easily at the age of 20. And then, he managed to move from recruit to Chief in just a matter of two years. He suspected that a certain tutor had been pulling the strings since such achievement should not be possible. The surprises kept on coming, the people in his team were seven of his friends, classmates and seniors from high school. Again, definitely had something to do with Reborn. The man did mention something about them being 'the perfect comrades to protect him'. So who were these seven people? Let's see, in chronological order of Tsuna meeting them: Yamamoto Takeshi, Gokudera Hayato, Lambo, Sasagawa Ryohei, Hibari Kyouya, Rokudo Mukuro and Dokuro Chrome.

Yamamoto was Tsuna's first friend, the two stayed this way throughout high school and ended up working together by coincidence – or that was what the former thought. Gokudera was a transfer student from Italy and Lambo was an acquaintance of Reborn's. The latter somehow ended up becoming a freeloader at Tsuna's house and remained there until now. As for Gokudera, the two started off on the wrong foot due to the silver-haired man's delinquent-like attitude, but that changed when Tsuna saved his life out of pure kindness.

From that moment, Gokudera sworn eternal loyalty to him and started calling him 'Juudaime' because the brunet was the tenth person he respected – and also the most ever since. When Tsuna decided on his future career, Gokudera had made it his goal in life to be Juudaime's right-hand man. Ryohei was the older brother of Tsuna's first crush and also his senior, they didn't have much to do with each other until the older man was impressed by his fighting skills and became obsessed with recruiting him into the boxing club, but Tsuna turned down the offer each and every time. Why he was there working with him? Well, that would be a question for Reborn to answer. The same could be said about Lambo.

The last two seniors, Hibari and Mukuro, approached him for pretty much the same reason. They saw Tsuna in middle of one of Reborn's training sessions one day and found him 'interesting', strength-wise and personality-wise. Reborn, being the sadist that he was, suggested to them to become Tsuna's sparring partners and they gladly accepted the offer. Even now, he still has to fight the skylark at least twice a week, Mukuro still stuck around because of his strange fascination with Tsuna. And finally, Chrome. She was the timid younger sister of Mukuro who would follow her brother anywhere without a second thought so her reason for being in this team was self-explanatory. Reborn also chose to stay with Tsuna as his advisor. The latter didn't mind that as much since he really didn't think he could handle the job alone. Ironically, Reborn was actually a hitman prior to becoming his tutor, and now he worked with the police.

Tsuna snapped out of his daydream as the doorknob was turned and Reborn reentered. He prayed to every god he knew of that the latter hadn't caught him, he really did not want to die at the age of 22. Reborn eyed the amount of work the brunet had completed while he was gone – which was three pages – and turned to him. Tsuna flinched and shut his eyes, waiting for a gunshot or a hit. Seconds passed, and he was still unhurt.

"I could kill you now, but that will only hinder the investigation." Reborn stated and flicked his student's forehead.

"H-huh? What investigation?"

"Get your stuff, Dame-Tsuna, we have a case. Hibari and Chrome are already at the scene and Gokudera's waiting outside with Yamamoto and Mukuro."

"Oh." Tsuna grabbed the blazer behind him and put it on while trying to hide his excitement. He knew it was very wrong to be eager like this, but hardly anything exciting ever happened in Namimori. Plus, _anything_ was better than paperwork.

The two exited the room and walked towards the entrance, with Tsuna struggling to keep up with Reborn's fast pace. Out of genuine curiosity, he asked the taller man, "So, what's the case about?"

"Don't know, Hibari didn't give away much information."

Tsuna sweat-dropped, that didn't come as much of a surprise – Hibari wasn't exactly the most talkative person there was. "I guess we'll just see when we get there then." As they stepped out of the building, there was already a standard five-seated police car waiting not too far from the entrance. They did have other vehicles at their disposal, one of which was Reborn's sport car, but God forbid a single scratch ever got on that thing, or there would be hell to pay.

When the pair got closer to the car, a silver-haired man perked up at the sight of his boss, got rid of the cigarette in his mouth and ran over to greet him. "Good afternoon, Juudaime!" With that said, Gokudera gave him a respectful ninety-degree bow as usual.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, did he just say 'afternoon'? He finally glanced at his watch, the digital numbers informed that it was 1:40 PM. Damn Reborn for locking him up for 5 hours. "Good afternoon, Gokudera-kun." The brunet greeted with a smile. He also waved back at Yamamoto and nodded at Mukuro, both were leaning against the car behind Gokudera.

"Juudaime, thank you for your hard work since this morning. I wanted to help you, but Reborn-san said that would get in the way of your training," Tsuna twitched and cursed Reborn again. Behind him, said man cleared his throat and Tsuna jumped. He'd totally forgotten about Reborn's ability to read people's - especially his - thoughts. "And Juudaime, I know you probably hadn't had a chance to eat anything, so I took the liberty to get you some food." Gokudera added, effectively bringing Tsuna's attention back to him – or rather, what he was holding. His face lit up, in the other's hands were the most delicious-looking sandwich ever.

"Oh God, Gokudera-kun, thank you so much!"Tsuna gratefully accepted the sandwich and eagerly took a bite out of it.

"I'm glad you like it, Juudaime." The silveret grinned enthusiastically and watched as his beloved boss golfed down his first meal for the day.

"Yo, Tsuna! You can eat on the way, we need to go now. Hibari's probably getting impatient." A tall black-haired man reminded as he walked to them and stood next to Gokudera. At the sight of the newcomer, Gokudera's attitude changed immediately. A frown appeared on his face and he growled.

"Baseball freak, don't interrupt Juudaime's meal!" Gokudera yelled and glared menacingly, but the other just laughed and shrugged it off like usual.

"It's OK, Gokudera-kun. Yamamoto has a point, Hibari-san will bite us to death for keeping him waiting. Let's go." Tsuna – who'd finished his sandwich in record speed - put a stop to his friends' one-sided fight and nudged the two to head towards the car. By that time, Reborn had already left the trio and settled into the seat beside the driver's.

Gokudera nodded in acknowledgment to the brunet and ran ahead to open the car's door, only to have a dark blue, pineapple-haired male beat him to it. The latter sent a smirk to Tsuna's self-proclaimed right-hand man before focusing on Tsuna himself. "Good afternoon, Tsunayoshi-kun," he greeted, ignoring Gokudera's complaints. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Hello, Mukuro…and I believe I'd just seen you this morning when you handed in your reports." _Which equaled to _more_ work to my already-ridiculous workload. _Tsuna added silently in his mind.

"Oya, which means it's been hours, that's way too long."

"Mukuro, just get in the car so we can go. I really don't want to be bitten to death by Hibari-san."

"Kufufufu, you're awfully cold today," Mukuro chuckled, but complied with Tsuna's request and moved aside. "After you, Tsunayoshi-kun."

The young Chief sighed and finally got into the vehicle with Mukuro following behind. Much to his dismay, Yamamoto has taken a window seat on the far end, meaning he was stuck in the middle. The only problem with that was Mukuro's lack of respect for personal space – especially when it came to Tsuna's. Said man was obviously aware of his predicament as he let out more amused chuckles. Without much of a choice, Tsuna took his seat between the two other males. Once everyone was in the car, Gokudera started the engines and the team finally departed, heading for the newest crime scene.

* * *

Their destination was relatively close, but the peak-time traffic was simply horrible. Even with Gokudera's dangerously fast driving, the trip still took a good forty minutes. During that time, the car was filled with the usual chatters. And 'usual' in this team of Namimori police officers' case meant Gokudera yelling and cursing about traffic jams and speeding devils (though he was also one), Yamamoto trying to calm the silveret down (which resulted in more yelling) and Mukuro's teasing accompanied by quite inappropriate touches towards a certain Chief – again, _even more_ yelling from Gokudera. Tsuna inwardly groaned, he could feel his excitement from earlier dissipating into thin air and a migraine from hell forming in its place. These were one of the times where he wished his friends weren't so loud and energetic.

When they _finally _arrived there and he'd gotten out of the car, Tsuna wanted nothing more than to get on his knees and kiss the ground, but Reborn would most likely kill him for "looking so pathetic" in public. So the brunet decided to take the next best option, which was taking a deep breath before scanning the location. They were parked outside an average-looking apartment complex in a quiet neighborhood. The place didn't look like the safest there was, but it wasn't too shabby either. On the third story, second apartment from the right, stood some police officers and yellow tape hung around the area. Tsuna adjusted his tie as he headed for the apartment with his subordinates – though he preferred to think of them as friends – trailing behind.

Once they'd reached the room, the lower-ranked officers saluted to their Chief and opened the door for him. Tsuna gave them a faint smile and a nod before entering the crime scene. The room was relatively small, probably only enough for one person, and most spaces were occupied by the basic furniture. The forensic team was already at the scene, examining the body that was lying just right beside the two-seated sofa, searching for evidence and dusting for fingerprints. Tsuna and company moved over to take a look at the body first. The victim this time was a tall man in his mid-thirties, his physical features suggested a foreigner – possibly European. Before Tsuna can take note of anything else, footsteps were heard and a man now stood beside him. The brunet looked up to see who it was, and flinched when he was met with piercing blue-gray eyes of Hibari Kyouya.

"You are all _very_ late," the familiar cold and deep voice stated before the skylark pulled out his tonfas from wherever they were hidden before. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, since you are the boss, shall I bite you to death?"

Tsuna held up a hand to prevent Gokudera from snapping back and stuttered, "S-sorry, Hibari-san, but we had some delay because of the traffic. And please don't bite me or anyone else to death, we have work to do, right?"

Hibari considered that for a moment before agreeing and withdrawing his tonfas. "Hn, Tetsu will explain the case to you." After saying that, the raven moved back to the furthest spot in the room where he could observe everything without being crowded by herbivores. As if right on cue, a largely-built man with an absurd hairdo by the name of Kusakabe Tetsuya took the place of his boss.

"Sawada-san," Kusakabe bowed in greeting. "As you can see, the victim is a man named Bernardo Russo. And yes, he is a foreigner, Italian to be exact. Russo-san was a businessman in Sicily who'd moved to Japan nearly a year ago. According to his neighbor, Nagata Rika, he lived alone while occasionally contacting his family in Italy. She was also the one who reported to us when she came here to give Russo-san some extra food and found the body by chance two hours ago. She'd mentioned that Russo-san could be away from home for quite long periods at times for business trips. That's about all we got from the interrogation. As for the autopsy, Dokuro-san – who arrived twenty minutes earlier than you – is doing it now with Rokudo-san. And I believe they're just about done." Kusakabe turned his head towards where the siblings and the forensic team were.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, he hadn't even notice Mukuro detaching from the group. Putting that aside, he turned back to Hibari's subordinate. "Thank you for your hard work, Kusakabe-san. We'll take it from here." Said man saluted in response and moved to take his place next to Hibari.

"Juudaime, let's go see the pineapple bastard and his sister." Gokudera suggested, not caring that he'd just addressed Mukuro with the forbidden 'p' word.

Tsuna gulped and waited for the telltale twitch from the blue-haired male, but there was none – Mukuro was preoccupied by his conversation with Chrome. "Yeah, let's go, they probably have a good idea on the cause of death by now."

"Hey, Tsuna, don't you think it's strange that the victim lived here?" Yamamoto asked as the four walked towards Mukuro and Chrome.

"Huh? Why is that?" Tsuna stopped on his track and turned to his friend. Yamamoto was about to reply, but Reborn got to it first.

"Dame-Tsuna, be more aware of your surroundings. Look around you."

Tsuna did as told and realized what the two was talking about. The furniture actually looked to be expensive, the TV had to be at least 50 inch, even the photos hanging on the wall were framed with high quality wood. "Now that you mention it, everything looks really out of place in such an apartment. Plus, Kusakabe-san mentioned Benardo Russo went on business trips some times. It is unusual for a well-off business man to be in this neighborhood."

His ex-home tutor smirked. "Now you're thinking, Dame-Tsuna."

"Ahaha, great job, Tsuna!"

_Are you two complimenting or insulting me? _Tsuna asked silently before getting back to the task at hand. "Anyway, Reborn, are you thinking towards robbery as a motive?"

"At first, yes, but since there are no signs of forced entry or rummaging through possessions, it's unlikely."

"So we're back to zero," Tsuna sighed and decided on a different approach. "Let's leave motives aside first and get the cause of death from Chrome and Mukuro."

The others agreed and focused on the forensic team just ahead. Once they're close enough to talk without shouting. Tsuna called out to Chrome. The petite female turned to them. "Boss." She said to Tsuna with a small smile before greeting the other men.

"Hey, Chrome, what have you got so far?"

"The time of death is about five hours ago, so approximately at 9 AM. This is quite a strange case, there are absolutely no wounds on the victim – except for old scars, possibly from gun or fist fights. There is no bruising either, suggesting that there was no struggle between the victim and killer."

"No wounds? Then, could it be poisoning?"

"I'm thinking the same thing. Though there are no obvious signs of poisoning at the moment, only a toxicology screen can tell for certain. That is all I have at the moment, I'm sorry I wasn't much of help, Boss." Chrome concluded and looked downcast by her lack of information.

"No, you've done exceptionally well, my dear Chrome." Mukuro said and placed an encouraging hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Mukuro's right, don't be so hard on yourself. You've got everything you could get from a crime scene in such a short time, the rest needs to be done in the laboratory." Tsuna added, giving Chrome a comforting smile.

Hearing such words from her two most respected people, the purple-haired female cheered up. "Thank you, Boss, Mukuro-sama."

"You're welcome, Chrome. And I'm only saying what's true, you're much more talented than you give yourself credit for."

"Indeed," Mukuro agreed then focused on the brunet. "Now, Tsunayoshi-kun, I believe it's time for us all to go."

"Right," Tsuna nodded and prepared to leave the crime scene. But before that, he needed to give out the tasks for some people to do. "Mukuro, you can stay here to oversee the gathering of evidence. Yamamoto, you can help Chrome's team get the body back to the lab. And Gokudera-kun, see if you can get in contact with the victim's family when we get back." The Chief ticked off the check list of jobs in his mind and concluded that that was all. Reborn was his adviser who rarely got involved, so nothing was needed to be assigned to him. And Hibari, well, Tsuna wouldn't dream of ordering him around any time soon. The skylark usually just investigated the case his way, but using the information the team collected, and reported back to him later on.

Everyone sounded their agreement, Yamamoto and Mukuro got to work while the other three headed for the exit. As they got out of the apartment, a journalist ran up to the group and stopped in front of Reborn. "Umm…a-are you the Chief…" the journalist paused, looked down at her notes. "S-Sawada T-Tsunayoshi?" she continued to stutter, clearly awestruck by Reborn's looks – if her heavy blush wasn't an indicator already.

Since Namimori was such a small and peaceful town, the members of the police force rarely came into the spotlight so it was no surprise that little more than their names were known, no matter how good-looking all of them might have been. The woman must've chosen the person she thought to be most fitting for the role out of the three.

"Actually, that'd be me." Tsuna called out and the journalist turned towards him. Judging from her expression, she probably hadn't even notice him earlier. Seeing surprise and skepticism written all over her face, Tsuna had to stop himself from openly rolling his eyes. Every time he'd told an acquaintance what his profession and rank were, the reaction had pretty much been the same and that was getting kind of annoying. He couldn't really blame the others for making the mistake though, since _everyone else_ in his team looked more suitable as a leader than him. After all, he was the shortest out of the group and the plainest-looking (in Tsuna's own opinion), even Chrome – the only female – was his height. Not only that, Tsuna had inherited mostly from his mother's genes, making him look a lot more feminine than the other young men his age.

"O-oh, I'm terribly sorry, Sawada-san," the journalist apologized, still trying to hide the doubt in her voice while looking into those big honey-colored eyes. "I'm from Namimori Times, would you mind answering some questions on the case?"

"Well, I would love to help, but I'm afraid that we have no more than what you already know at the moment."

"No way, surely you can give some more infoma-"

"Oi, didn't you fucking hear him? Stop bothering Juudaime!" Gokudera cut in, one hand reaching for his dynamites.

The woman squeaked and flinched from the glare she was receiving and backed away. "I-I'm sorry, I'll come back another day!" She gave a quick bow in apology and practically ran off.

"Gokudera-kun, that was a little too harsh. She was just doing her job." Tsuna said, feeling sorry for the poor woman.

"Don't worry about her, Juudaime. And journalists are very persistent, it's best to turn them down as soon as possible."

The silveret did have a good point, but Tsuna still believed there were better ways to do it. _Oh well, that's Gokudera-kun._ "Anyway, we should get going, there's still work to do." From the corner of his eye, Tsuna could see another police car that belonged to Hibari already reversing out of the car park.

"Indeed there is. And in your case, Dame-Tsuna, _a lot._" Reborn reminded and rejoiced in the exasperated groan that came from Tsuna.

* * *

It's been nearly a week since the discovery of Benardo Russo's death, and the police of Namimori was still no closer to solving anything. In fact, the case became even more confusing when the tox screen results showed no sign of anything out of the ordinary. However, there was definitely foul play involved since the medical records of the man showed that he was in perfect health prior to his death. And healthy men don't just literally drop dead like that. To make matters worse, there had been not one, but _three _more cases reported within five days. There were also no wounds or chemical poisonings detected on all three victims. Hence, Tsuna and his team had concluded that these murders were done by the same person.

"The victims are Benardo Russo, Emilio Nigro, Luca Lagudi and Isanami Mizaki. Similar symptoms and cause of death – or lack of thereof – are present on all four. Since the three men are Italians, the culprit seems to be aiming for foreigners, but that doesn't explain the latest victim. Although, she is Lagudi-san's lover who was also killed at the same place, she may have just been there at the wrong time," Tsuna paused for a minute, looking away from his report to the silver-haired man on his right. "Gokudera-kun, were you able to get in contact with any of the other victims' families?"

The silveret shook his head. "No, when I tried to look for information about them before they came to Japan, nothing came up. And it seems that Benardo Russo lied to his neighbor, all the male victims are unemployed."

"That can't be right, they were able to pay the rent and looked to be pretty well-off."

"It is quite hard to believe, but it's the truth. I couldn't find anything else, I'm a disappointment. I'm sorry, Juudaime!" Gokudera moved to get down on his knees, but was stopped by Tsuna.

"N-no, it's fine, you did your best. Please sit down, Gokudera-kun!" Once his right-hand man had settled down, Tsuna sighed and continued. "Anyway, this is getting bizarre. We have seemingly four mysterious men plus one average citizen, and they all died of mysterious causes. And yet, we have nothing. The Medias are going to love this."

"They're already lining up outside. Look," Reborn said and pointed to the window nearby. Sure enough, reporters from every channel and newspaper known to Japan were in the crowd at the entrance of the police station. "Yamamoto, Ryohei, didn't I tell you two to chase them off?"

"We extremely did, they just regrouped after that!"

"Haha, yeah, we can't stand there forever." Yamamoto defended himself along with Ryohei.

Reborn nodded and let the two off the hook. "Dame-Tsuna, if you want to survive, I suggest you stick to Hibari."

_No way, I'll be bitten to death instead. _Tsuna expected Hibari to argue back to Reborn, but the skylark said nothing. _Maybe he doesn't consider one person as crowding. _As he was about to continue talking, Tsuna – along with everyone else - saw a reporter sneaking around the bushes in an attempt to get closer to their room and rolled his eyes.

From his spot against the wall, Hibari smirked and pulled out his tonfas. "For trespassing, that herbivore will be bitten to death."

"Wait, Hibari-san! Please sit down, we're still in the middle of a meeting! Your men can take care of it!" Tsuna called out as Hibari just reached the door, causing him to stop. The brunet realized what he just did and gulped. _Crap, I just ordered Hibari-san. I'm going to be bitten to death!_

When he saw the skylark turned around and headed towards him, Tsuna let out his signature shriek. Much to his surprise, Hibari walked pass him and back to the wall. Over the years, Tsuna had gained some respect and was seen as pretty close to an equal to the raven-haired man. As prove, Tsuna was now addressed mostly by his name or "omnivore" (crowding with herbivores sometimes and being around carnivores the other). He was probably the only other person – aside from Reborn – who could convince Hibari to do something. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Tsuna resumed the meeting. "So, let's get back to case. Umm…let's see, does anyone else have anything to contribute?" the Chief asked, looking around the table. Some hope rose when he saw Mukuro chuckling and looking straight at him. "Mukuro?"

"Kufufufu, I believe I did find something at the second crime scene that will be of interest to you."

"What is it?"

Mukuro moved to stand beside Tsuna before taking out a small plastic bag that was used for containing evidence from his pocket and handed it to the Chief. Tsuna picked up the bag and examined it. The content looked like a badge at first, but the back showed a USB imbedded inside some sort of gold-plated (or maybe real gold?) emblem. The center of the crest was a golden bullet inside a shield, decorated with floral patterns, two shotguns on the sides, a clam with wings attached on the top, and lastly, a banner that read 'Vongola' on the bottom. After registering all the details of the USB, Tsuna looked back up to Mukuro, waiting for him to explain.

"I would love to explain to you myself, but I believe your advisor over there will do a better job," mismatched eyes turned to Reborn. "Right, Arcobaleno?"

Upon hearing this, Reborn – whose attention was previously still on the USB – met Mukuro's gaze with amusement. The hitman tilted his fedora upwards to get a better view. "Oh? It's been a while since someone have called me that. This explains a lot about the victims. You must have dug very deep to find that name and about the Vongola. As expected of Rokudo Mukuro."

"Kufufufu, of course, finding information is my specialty. But even with my skills, not much showed up. Your world really is a secretive one."

Everyone else listened to the two with either interest or confusion, especially Tsuna. He did not understand any of what they were saying, and being left out of the loop wasn't a very good feeling. "Reborn, what's all this about? Why did Mukuro call you 'Arcobaleno'? What's that, anyway? And what is the Vongo-"

Before Tsuna could finish his last question, he was smacked on the head by his ex-home tutor with Leon in rolled-up-newspaper form. "One question at a time, Dame-Tsuna. You're blabbering."

"S-sorry," the brunet pouted and rubbed the back of his head. "So, why did Mukuro call you Arcobaleno?"

"Because that's what I am."

Tsuna wanted to do a face-palm at the answer, but held himself back. "Reborn, now's not the time to be joking."

"The Arcobaleno is a group consisting of the strongest seven people in the world, or more precisely, the Mafia."

"Strongest in the world?! So when you said you're the number one hitman, that was true? W-Wait a minute, _Mafia_?!" Tsuna gaped, he knew Reborn was strong, but he never expected the man to be _that _famous.

"Of course, who else do you expect a hitman to work for?"

"Good point, but what does this have to do with the Vongola?"

"Still as slow as ever, I see. At this rate, you'll be going back to training, Dame-Tsuna." Leon morphed into a gun in Reborn's waiting hand.

Memories of the Spartan exercises came back to him and the Chief shrieked. "Hiiiiee! No, please have mercy!"

"Hmph, I guess I'll spell it out for you just this once. The Vongola is a Mafia Family, or Famiglia, in Italy. It is not just any Famiglia, it is one of the strongest and most influential there are ever since its establishment around 400 years ago. The owner of this USB must have been a Mafioso of the Vongola. And the other victims are most likely Mafiosi as well."

"Oh, that would explain why they're so well-off, their Italian background and their lack of identification," Tsuna concluded and breathed a sigh of relief when Reborn hummed an agreement. "Mukuro, was there anything useful in the USB?"

The blue-haired man shook his head. "No, whatever was on there had been wiped out beyond recovery."

"I see, good job anyway. At least we found out about their connection to the Vongola. Thank you for the hard work." Tsuna smiled at Mukuro, now they finally had a lead.

"Kufufufu, my pleasure, Tsunayoshi-kun."Mukuro flashed him a grin and returned to his seat, ignoring the snort and glare that came from Gokudera.

"Um, what should we do now? We know this case is related to the Mafia, should we contact the Italian police and hand it over to them?" Tsuna asked aloud.

"No," much to his surprise, Hibari contributed to the meeting for the first time. "The crime happened on Namimori's grounds, we will handle it."

"Hibari's right, why should we let someone else take the glory when we're capable of catching the killer ourselves?" Reborn added.

"You two do realize the Vongola is all the way in Italy, right?"

"So? We'll fly there."

"Hn."

_These two are crazy! _Tsuna sweat-dropped and gave up, there just wasn't any way he could convince them.

"Besides, the Italian police wouldn't be of much use. The underground world of Mafia, like Mukuro said, is very secretive. Outsiders would have a very little to no chance of finding anything useful. We, on the other hand, have an advantage since _I_ happen to be an ally of the Vongola." Reborn continued smugly.

"Are you thinking of going back to Italy alone to investigate?" Tsuna asked, half worrying about Reborn's safety and half cheering for his possible absence.

"Nope, that's the boss's job. Meaning, it's yours, Dame-Tsuna. I'm only your adviser. Also, I can't just leave my charge/useless student by himself."

"But how would I do that?! You just said it yourself that outsiders would never find anything."

"Which is why _you_," Reborn paused and pointed at Tsuna. "Are going undercover, as a Mafioso."

**There we go, first chapter done. I hope that was alright. Tell me what you think by reviewing! Thanks for reading! Random note, the Vongola crest USB actually exists, and I happen to own one. Everyone who has seen it thinks it looks really cool. ^^ Oh, almost forgot, happy birthday to Tsuna and a belated one to Reborn. I love you both!...By the way, has anyone checked out the new anime, Psycho-Pass? The character design is done by Amano Akira! The main male looks exactly like TYLHibari and the female is a FemTsuna. :D **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there, I'm back again! Thank you so much for all the reviews, faves and alerts! It's thanks to all of them that I have the motivation to write faster and bring you this chapter in just a week (that's faster than I've written in ages). Review replies will be at the end since I don't want to keep you from reading the actual story. On that note, here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. (Too lazy to be creative)**

Chapter 2

Reborn's words hung in the air and after minutes, Tsuna still hadn't said anything, just staring with a shocked expression glued to his face. The hitman was actually tempted to transform Leon into a marker and start drawing on his student's face. As if sensing he was in danger, Tsuna blinked rapidly and snapped out of his thoughts.

"D-did you just say 'undercover'? A-and Mafioso?" The brunet asked, finally recovering from the shock.

"Indeed I did, it's a good chance for you to develop those skills, especially when your life will be depending on it. I can tell you, the Mafia doesn't take intruders lightly."

"Hiiiiee! Then shouldn't you send someone experienced instead?! Not to mention, I don't even know the first thing about Italy!"

"Hence, for the next two days, I'll teach _everything _you need to know about the Mafia and Italy. But if you fail to keep up…" The glint in Reborn's midnight eyes promised painful tortures that sent chills down Tsuna's spine.

"R-Reborn-san, are you really planning on sending Juudaime to Italy alone?" Gokudera cut in, concerned about his boss's safety.

"I don't recall saying anything about him going alone."

"So I can go with Juudaime?!" Gokudera perked up, looking like an excited puppy.

"Yes, along with a few more." The silveret's excitement died down while Yamamoto laughed.

"Cool, it's like a field trip!"

"Damn it, why must the baseball freak come as well?!"

"But," Reborn interrupted, getting everyone's attention back. "All eight of you can't go, that would raise suspicion. And there should still be a few staying here to watch over Namimori."

"That's true. And I have a feeling you already decided who's going, who isn't and everything else." Tsuna said, suspecting that the hitman had everything planned out even before the meeting.

"Good guess, Dame-Tsuna. The ones staying are: Chrome, Ryohei and Lambo. Chrome will be in charge since she's the one with the most common sense out of those three. Ryohei will help her. The stupid cow is too lazy and will get in our way so we're leaving him behind," to prove his point, Reborn eyed Lambo who had slept through the entire meeting and was still dead to the world. "For those who are going, you all need to know at least _some_ Italian even though the high-ranking members of Vongola are fluent in Japanese. Gokudera is ¾ Italian, Mukuro and Chrome grew up in Italy, they can help me. Gokudera will teach Yamamoto, Mukuro can go with Hibari since Chrome is busy."

_These arrangements will never work out! _Tsuna screamed in his mind, if Reborn had read it, he'd ignored him as well. Sure enough, Gokudera immediately argued. "Reborn-san, can't I teach Juudaime instead? There's no way anything will get into this idiot's head in two days!"

"I refuse to be anywhere near Rokudo Mukuro."

"Kufufufu, I have no intention of working with you either, birdie."

"All of you, shut up. Tsuna is still my student, so Gokudera, are you questioning my decision?" one look from Reborn had the silveret gulping and muttering a 'no'. "Then Hibari, would you rather Mukuro go with Tsuna instead?" the hitman smirked when there was a barely noticeable twitch from the skylark.

"Do what you want." Tsuna gaped at Hibari's response, not believing how easy it was for Reborn to change his mind. Not that he wanted Mukuro as his teacher either. And why did Hibari care if Mukuro was his teacher anyway?

"Lastly, Mukuro, just put up with it. I don't care how much you two fight, as long as you get the job done. Anyone else have anything to say?" Reborn waited and hummed in approval when he was met with silence. "Good, then this meeting is done. You can go have a break or whatever for 15 minutes, then come back here. There are more things I need to go over about the Mafia. In the meantime, I have a call to make." With that said, Reborn was the first to exit the room.

The hitman walked to his office, taking out a small suitcase containing everything he'd need later and sat down onto one of the sofas before having Leon transform into a cell phone and dialing a number he hadn't used in years. While listening to the dialing tone, Reborn noted that it was 8 or 9 in the morning in Italy and he wasn't calling at an inconvenient time.

"_S__i__?" _a male voice answered smoothly in Italian after a few rings.

"Chaos, Giotto. Or should I say, Vongola Decimo." Reborn greeted back in Japanese.

There was a pause as if the person was checking if he'd heard right, before a response came from the other line. _"Just Giotto is fine, but don't you have anything else to say after not contacting in years?" _

"There's always time for greetings first, right? But yes, I do have something to say. I'm coming back for a visit in two days, along with five other. I'll appreciate it if you sent one of Vongola's private jets to pick us up in Namimori, Japan."

"_It's not like I can refuse or change your mind, but at least have the courtesy to inform me earlier. Why are you coming anyway? And don't say it's just for a visit, I don't even need Hyper Intuition to know that's a lie."_

"I'll tell you when I get there."

Giotto sighed, knowing he wouldn't be getting any more than that. _"Alright, if there's nothing else, I have paperwork to finish or else G will start pulling his hair out, and I'd rather see him pink than bald. I'll see you in two days, addio, Reborn."_

After replying with a 'bye', Reborn ended the call and gave Leon a pat when the chameleon transformed back. Humming in satisfaction that the arrangement with Giotto was done, the hitman stood up and decided to go grab an espresso before going to the conference room.

* * *

Ten minutes and one high quality espresso later, Reborn was back inside the meeting room. Underneath the orange-banded fedora, his dark eyes rolled in exasperation at the scene. Everyone had returned, just as he'd directed, but Gokudera and Ryohei were already at each other's throat in one end with Mukuro and Hibari about to fight in the other. Tsuna and Yamamoto were both futilely trying to calm the four down. Seconds passed and still no one had even realised he'd entered, and being ignored was just _a_ _little _annoying. Having enough of the noise, Reborn took hold of the Leon-gun and shot one bullet to the ceiling, effectively got everyone's attention.

Hearing the loud '_bang!_', the others in the room wisely shut up and looked to the entrance. Reborn merely met their eyes with a cold stare while blowing smoke from his gun, but that was enough to drop the temperature in the room by several degrees. "Would it kill you all to not act like a bunch of children for five minutes?" the hitman asked rhetorically and took a seat at the large table with the rest following suit. "Now, back to business. There are more to the Mafia than it meets the eye, more than anything outsiders can imagine."

This pretty much got everyone's interest, they were now hanging on Reborn's every word.

"First of all, Mafiosi are very strong, because they possess an almost supernatural power known as Dying Will Flame. This flame is a form of high-density energy with many different types, varying from person to person based on their characteristics. Its strength also relies on the user's resolve. There are seven types of Dying Will Flame: storm, rain, lightning, sun, cloud, mist and sky. Each of them has its own powerful abilities," Reborn paused, giving the information time to sink in. "I could explain the entire thing, but that would be a very long speech and I doubt any of you would get anything from it. Therefore, you can read the stuff yourself." Opening the suitcase he'd brought into the room, Reborn took out some thin books and handed them around - conveniently, they all had Japanese translation.

The books had all the information on Dying Will Flames, such as appearance and abilities. Twenty minutes later, everyone had finished reading though certain people still looked pretty clueless. "So, do you all understand the flames and their abilities? That's the most important part. Those who have not understood can reread later."

The others nodded and Tsuna raised a hand – rule made by Reborn - to ask a question, curiosity getting the better of him. "Reborn, does that mean you have a flame as well?"

"Yes, mine is sun," the hitman held onto his gun and ignited his Dying Will Flame. "Dame-Tsuna, you want to laugh, don't you?" The look on his ex-student's face showed he was amused that of all flames, Reborn had sun.

"What? No, why would I do that?" sure the thought did cross his mind, but he valued his life too much to act on it. "Although, I'd never expect you to have sun flame. I mean, healing and strengthening doesn't suit you. "

"It's the strengthening part that I focus more on," Reborn pointed his gun to one wall and called out 'Chaos Shot'. A beam of concentrated sun flame hit the target and blew it to bits, the people in the room could now see the car park outside. "Was that strong enough for you?"

"Was that _really _necessary?!" Tsuna exclaimed, looking at where the wall used to be in dismay while hearing Hibari whispering a 'wao' in a corner. We're_ the ones who would pay for the damage, and the paperwork for that goes to _me!

"That brings me to another point, very few would use Dying Will Flame by itself. The flame is usually channelled into a weapon. Within the recent years, a new type had been developed, called box weapons. The rings which used to be only the symbols of each Famiglia now also serve as keys to activate the box weapons. "

"Hey, if the Mafia is this strong, what would happen if they try to take over the world or something? And how would police like us keep them under control?"

"That's why they keep it to themselves and their world. They even have their own law enforcers, known as Vindice. Anyone who breaks the law will be put in Vendicare prison where there is no hope of getting out. Besides, not all Famiglia's are bad, the Vongola and its allies in particular are known to be quite peaceful. The Vongola Decimo, or tenth generation boss, will not be what you're expecting. One might even call him kind."

Tsuna still looked doubtful, the words 'kind', 'peaceful' and 'Mafia' didn't seem to go well together.

"Now, since you four will be seen as Mafiosi, you need to be able to use Dying Will Flames. All of you can try, it's good to know other skills. Here," Reborn threw a middle-ranked ring to each person. "Each one corresponds with the type of flame I believe you have, try to light them up. If it doesn't work, just swap around. I would give you new weapons that are compatible with the flames as well, but I don't have them. We'll just have to make them once we get to Italy."

_And yet you have rings of all flame types? _Tsuna wondered inwardly as he put on the ring.

"Rings can be used by anyone, weapons differ from person to person, especially you lot. Same goes with box weapons. I myself don't have a box since I've never seen the need for one, Leon is already enough." Reborn answered the unasked question.

Speaking of weapons, that was another irony. Even though they were policemen, none – except for Reborn – actually used a gun. Tsuna rarely went out on missions – usually stuck in his office with paperwork – but fought with combat gloves. Yamamoto was a highly skilled swordsman, and also deadly with a baseball. Gokudera was the bomb expert with dynamites as the weapon of choice. Ryohei was a powerful boxer. Hibari used a pair of steel tonfas with various hidden components, and occasionally handcuffs. Mukuro sometimes fought with a trident – same as Chrome – but mostly used illusions and five other supernatural powers that he was born with, but claimed to have obtained from going to hell and back six times.

"Oh." With a shrug, Tsuna looked at his ring before closing his eyes to focus on his resolve to ignite the flame. Around the room, everyone else did the same and there was nothing but silence.

After a while of intense concentration, almost simultaneously, multiple flames of seven different colors illuminated the room. But only for a moment. The users barely caught a glimpse of their flames before all of the rings shattered and countless shards rained down to the ground, leaving them in confusion.

Reborn flicked his fedora upwards with a smirk. "I'm impressed, didn't expect you all to break the rings on the first try. Guess that's another thing I have to get made over there," seeing Tsuna about to ask a question, the hitman held up a hand to silence it. "The rings shattered because they could not withstand the strength of the flames you released, that's a good sign. And as long as you know how to ignite the flame and the type you possess, that exercise served its purpose. That's one lesson down quicker than I thought. Now, time to start your Italian lessons."

Tsuna was the first to groan aloud, why must _he _be the one with a Spartan and sadistic tutor?

* * *

After two days of learning Italian, making arrangements for work and other things, Tsuna and company were set to go. They were now sitting in one of Namimori airport's terminals at 9 in the morning, dressed in expensive black suits which a certain hitman had made them buy. Most of the men were sleep-deprived, thanks to the farewell party that Sawada Nana and the girls threw which went to about 3 AM. Good thing there was no alcohol, or else there would also be hangovers to deal with.

"Alright, since everyone's here, it's time to go," Reborn glanced at his watch before grabbing his single black suitcase. "Our plane should be here by now."

"Reborn, wait, I don't see any planes leaving for Italy until at least five more hours." Tsuna said, pointing at the digital screens above.

"Who said we're going by normal airline services?"

"Huh?"

"Just gather your stuff and follow me." Reborn ended the conversation and began walking away, leaving no room for argument.

The Chief could only sigh and followed after his ex-tutor with his four friends, refusing Gokudera's offer to help him with the suitcases. After passing the security and handing over all of the baggage with no problem, the brunet frowned when he saw Reborn exiting via a VIP gate. Outside, a sleek black limousine was waiting with the chauffeur already holding one door open.

Tsuna gaped when the chauffeur greeted Reborn and got a tilt of the fedora in return as the hitman stepped into the limousine. "What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and get in." Reborn said from inside the vehicle.

With another sigh of defeat, Tsuna decided to just follow along to see where this would lead to and did as told. Once everybody was inside, the door was closed and the limo drove off towards where a couple of aeroplanes were parked nearby.

"W-wait a minute, w-we're g-going on a _private jet_?!" The brunet exclaimed, finally piecing everything together when they came to a stop next to a Boeing Business Jet. _Why did we even _need _a limo?! It was like steps away!_

"Of course, courtesy of Giotto, Vongola Decimo. Don't worry, he have plenty to spare."

Tsuna gulped, he'd heard his mother talked about this type of jet and the price range started at 59 million US dollars. _Just how rich _was_ the Vongola?!_

"Very," Reborn answered without being asked while getting out of the car. "Our stuff should already be on the jet."

If he was impressed by the jet just from the external view, Tsuna was ready to faint when he saw the interior. The large lounge area with numerous comfortable sofas and armchairs took the most space. The jet pretty much had everything: dining area, bar, kitchen with chefs and waiters, bathrooms with showers, even a master bedroom. The group went on a short tour around the place before settling down in the lounge area as the jet prepared for take-off.

"I still can't believe we're actually on a private jet." Tsuna mumbled as he sat timidly on the one of the sofas, not daring to touch anything in fear of damaging such expensive property.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, huh?" Yamamoto added, he was sitting on the left of the brunet with Gokudera on the right of his boss and Reborn was directly opposite them. Mukuro chose a separate spot a little off to the side and Hibari was in the far corner, but still within hearing distance.

"I don't get why you're all so awestruck, this is actually one of the old ones. Remind me to complain to Giotto when we get there," Reborn turned to a waiter nearby to order an espresso. "It's a twelve-hour flight, so I suggest you guys get comfortable. The bedroom's mine, by the way."

A couple of minutes later, the waiter came back with Reborn's drink and asked if anyone else wanted anything which he received 'no' in return. After a few sips of the espresso, the hitman looked back to the group of males in front of him who had got into small talks amongst themselves, well, minus two individuals anyway. "Now, there is still some stuff I need to go over before we meet the Vongola so you won't be confused."

The trio opposite stopped talking, Mukuro looked at him from the corner of his eyes while Hibari still appeared to be sleeping, but Reborn knew he was listening. "Every Vongola boss has six close subordinates, the Decimo is no exception. These six are known as guardians, each person has their own duty and role to the Family. The boss is also considered a guardian, so that makes seven in total. Some of you might have already guessed it, each person will have a type of Dying Will Flame. The boss will always be the Sky Guardian and have sky flame. You can distinguish the guardians based on the rings they're wearing, the color corresponds with the person's flame. Also, here's a list of the guardians' roles, read them and pass on to the next person."

A paper was handed to Tsuna and his two friends. When they'd finished, Tsuna gave it to Mukuro who later crumbled the sheet and threw it at Hibari with a little more force than necessary. Of course, the skylark easily caught it with one hand. The list was read briefly, but still getting all the information across, before being tossed into a bin nearby.

Reborn smirked when he saw the males glancing at one another, some more discretely than others, no doubt the words on the paper were replaying in their heads. "Yes, some of the roles kind of fit you lot, don't they? Alright, next thing. For the first few days, don't do anything out of the norm, such as starting the investigation. Keep a low profile and don't cause trouble. I'm looking at _you three _in particular." The older man paused and eyed Hibari, Mukuro and Gokudera.

"One last tip, avoid lying to Giotto. Being the Decimo, he has Blood of Vongola, and with that comes Hyper Intuition. That means he has very good perception and insight into people, so if you don't want to raise suspicion, keep as close to the truth as possible and act natural. That's about it, any questions? Dame-Tsuna, you look like you have something to say."

Tsuna pouted at how easily he was read by the other, again. "Umm, I've just remembered, shouldn't we have stuff like fake ID's and aliases prepared if we're going undercover?"

"You've just realized that _now_?" the brunet flinched, mumbling apologies. "I wanted to leave as soon as possible, so there was simply not enough time to get all those things prepared. Fortunately, Namimori is a very small town, I doubt anyone – especially overseas - would know of or care about you. I'll also put in a few words about you five being my students, that should be more than enough to keep them from running background checks."

"O-oh. Then I guess we're good to go."

"Of course, or else you wouldn't be here right now," Reborn concluded and stood up from his seat, heading for the bedroom. "Since there's nothing else to do and one long flight left, I'm going to take a nap, disturb me and die." The room's door closed with a soft 'click' and the hitman disappeared from sight.

"Juudaime, let's move to one of the seats by the window so you can see the view clearly later." Gokudera suggested, knowing that this was his boss's first time on a plane, or more precisely, jet.

"Yeah, let's do that," Tsuna nodded and followed the silveret, sweat-dropping when the latter turn to snap at Yamamoto for trailing after them. Then, as he settled onto the sofa beside a window, a thought came to mind. "Hey, Gokudera-kun, shouldn't you stop calling me 'Juudaime'? I mean, I won't be your boss during the mission so it'll be strange to address me like that, right?"

"T-that's true, but...to call Juudaime by your name so casually..." Gokudera looked as if Tsuna had told him to push a helpless old lady down the stairs.

"Maa, maa, just let Gokudera act like normal. Tsuna, you don't need to worry about every little thing, that's just being paranoid. If anyone asks, Gokudera can just tell the real reason as to why he does that, it's no big deal." Yamamoto cut in with his usual wide grin.

"The baseball idiot's right...for once. Besides, even if I did stop, what about those two bastards?"Gokudera pointed to said people nearby. "Hibari would still go around calling everyone 'herbivores', and I don't think Mukuro's going to stop that annoying, creepy laugh of his anytime soon."

Tsuna couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly at that. "Good point, but at least refrain from threatening people with your dynamites, OK?"

"Ahahaha, it'll be fine, it's not like those fireworks will hurt anyone."

A vein popped on Gokudera's forehead. "For the fucking _last_ time, they are _not _fireworks!"

The harmless one-sided banter went on, but Tsuna eventually had to intervene when Hibari threatened to bite them all to death for all the noise.

* * *

One long and uneventful flight later, the private jet of Vongola finally touched down onto a runway of an airport in Sicily. Some of the passengers had been fully-awake and impatiently waiting to get off, some were excited while adjusting the watched to local time, some…correction, _one _was extremely nervous now that they had arrived in Italy. That one person was, predictably, the Chief, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

As the group went through the limo ride and baggage collection like in Japan hours ago, Tsuna was pretty much on the edge of hyperventilating. Even though he knew from Reborn's explanation how different the actual Mafia world was, he still couldn't get out of his head the stereotypical images of gun-wielding men in black who wouldn't hesitate to shoot them between the eyes. _Why does that sound so much like Reborn? God, what if we blow our covers?! We'll be killed! Reborn said Vongola Decimo has Hyper Intuition and is very good at detecting lies, can we really get pass him? _ Speaking of Vongola Decimo, Tsuna really did _not _want to meet the man. After all, he was a _Mafia Boss, _and Tsuna's imagination of the boss wasn't exactly the nicest person around.

In the midst of all the ranting in his head, Tsuna didn't even realize they had gotten into the second limousine and was driving out of the airport. He only snapped out of the thoughts and registered his surroundings when Yamamoto called his name and pointed out the obvious.

"Jeez, Tsuna, calm down! You look like you're about to pass out and we're not even near the Vongola yet." The taller brunet chuckled and tried to reassure his friend by ruffling his hair.

"I can't help it, we're infiltrating one of the biggest Mafia organizations around! What if we don't sound believable at all and get caught right when we get there?! And how can you be so calm, Yamamoto?!"

"Ahahaha, I don't know. Maybe you should try thinking it's a game, that helps relaxes the mind."

_But it's _not_ a game, it's a life and death situation! _Tsuna screamed in his mind, hands reaching to pull at his hair in anxiety.

"There's no need to be so nervous, Dame-Tsuna. Nobody would suck so much to the point of being caught right at the beginning, even you," Reborn said, ignoring the sarcastic eye-roll Tsuna gave in return. "So stop messing up your hair, you need to look presentable. We're about an hour away from the headquarters of Vongola."

"Fine…" The brunet muttered and began trying to comb down the gravity-defying mob of hair.

Off to the side, Mukuro suddenly started chuckling and leered at him. "Kufufufu, Tsunayoshi-kun, if you're still worried, feel free to come over here," he patted the spot right beside him. "I can think of _many_ things we can do in the meantime to distract you."

"Stay away from Juudaime, you bastard!" Immediately, Gokudera shot up and stood protectively in front of his boss.

Before the silveret can get out his dynamites, two steel tonfas flew towards him and Mukuro. Having experienced this many times, the latter easily parried the object and let it smashed one of the windows. Gokudera, on the other hand, was not so lucky. "What the fuck, Hibari?!" Emerald eyes glared at said person while their owner rubbed the quickly-bruising spot on his forehead where the tonfa had hit.

"You herbivores are too loud, sit down and be quiet or I'll bite you to death." The skylark took out another pair of tonfas, making Tsuna seriously wondered where he was hiding all of those, and got into an offensive stance.

"Why don't you get over here and try it?!" Gokudera growled, hands gripping eight dynamites.

"I wouldn't mind taking you on either, Hibari Kyouya."

For the rest of the trip, Tsuna was mostly occupied with stopping fights and arguments between the three to get back to his mild hyperventilation. But when the limo stopped in front of cobblestone steps leading up to the entrance of a majestic mansion, correction, _castle, _the butterflies in his stomach returned with vengeance. He could only hope that his first undercover mission would not be his last.

* * *

**A/N: And cut! The Vongola will FINALLY appear next chapter and this one was mostly for explanations. Speaking of which, I didn't want to go into details about the Flames and stuff since it really would be too long. But it'll be the same as the anime/manga, except Flames of the Sky only and not Earth Flames. Anyone who wants to research more on the flames, just go to Reborn wiki, best place for info. ^^ **

**Review Reply Corner:**

**Anello di Tempesta: Thanks for reviewing! It's so cool that you read my story since I love all of yours! Hope to read some more soon! ^^ And I bought the USB on ebay. I first saw it on another website but was WAY overpriced and then found it on ebay and persuaded my friend into buying it for me. It is pretty cool, but mine just crashed today...awkward. Hopefully I'll be able to fix it, if not, still makes a good keychain. XD Yeah, it wasn't until I saw the pic of Psycho-pass that I realized Hibari and Xanxus actually have the same hairstyle!**

**Laiyuu: I'm glad you enjoyed the story, Tsuna will meet the Vongola next chapter so maybe stick around? :) Thank you for reviewing!**

**Orekirito: There it is, an update! Don't know if you count this as soon or not. ^^ Yeah, Psycho-Pass is pretty good, though the first episode was a bit too gory for my liking. Oh well, I'm still gonna watch even if it's just for the hot characters. XD Thanks for the review!**

**Exile Wrath: Thanks for reviewing, I love your story 'Abandonment' by the way! :) Yep, I don't think there's many G2718 around either. And really? I haven't seen that type of stores around. Huh, maybe I'll look up some. On another note, just read your profile (not stalking, I swear!), you're Vietnamese?! Cool, I'm one too and haven't met many around here so just found that interesting. ^^;**

**Just Another Fan: Haha thanks, good to know I'm doing well. Thank you for the review!**

**Ageha Sakura: Thanks, I'll try to! :) Hope you'll keep reading and enjoying the story!**

**And that's about it, please keep reviewing, I love reading them! ^^**

**Author's rant: Is it just me or is the ending to Curse of the Rainbow arc in the manga disappointing? I expected so much more and we got absolutely nothing! I don't want to give spoilers to anyone who hasn't read, but those who did should know what I'm talking about...right? **


	3. Chapter 3

**Ciaossu! Yet another update, think of it as a Halloween present. Happy Halloween everybody! ^^ Thank you for the reviews, alerts and faves. Wow, 55 alerts already, so many! If only they were reviews. XD Oh well, any is fine with me, I'm just happy people are reading this. Keep enjoying the story!**

**Disclaimer: If I **_**did **_**own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Kyoko and Haru would not exist and Tsuna would have his own male harem instead.**

Chapter 3

As the group stepped out of the limousine, around twenty Mafiosi ran out from the castle and lined up before them. While the others stood confidently, Tsuna gulped and tried to inch as far to the back of Reborn as he could without the man noticing – which wasn't far at all. Though the Italian men had their eyes hidden by dark sunglasses, Tsuna could feel their scrutinizing stares fixated on each and every one of them. He made a silent note that the Mafiosi all had at least one hand gun in a holster, that's a lot of bullets. Not to mention all the box weapons hanging from the belts.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to bring his ass back here." All of a sudden, a gruff voice of a male commented in Italian – Tsuna was surprised and glad that he actually understood the language. Reborn's teaching, though bordering insanity, had always proved to give positive results. The crowd of Mafiosi parted, revealing a young man with light red, almost pink, hair and a fiery tattoo that ran an entire side of his face from his collarbone to his forehead.

"Nice seeing you, too, pinky." Reborn answered with a scoff, not bothering to hide the sarcastic tone. Around them, some Mafiosi coughed to hide their laughter while some just sniggered at the nickname.

In response, the redhead visibly flinched, a vein popping on his brow, bit down harder on the cigar in his mouth and turned to glare at his subordinates. "What the fuck are you all still here for? Get back to work or bring their luggage inside! We're not paying you to stand around! Hurry up or I'll shoot every single one of you!"

Tsuna cringed while the Mafiosi quickly stumbled to do as told, he couldn't believe Reborn was picking fights with someone so scary! But the hitman didn't look the least intimidated, entertained or amused would be a better word. "Still barking like a dog, I see."

"Stop, it hasn't even reached five minutes and you two are already fighting," another smooth male voice joined in, cutting off whatever comeback the redhead had in store. Everyone turned to the newcomer's direction and saw a blonde making his way down the steps. "G, you haven't even greeted the guests."

The red-haired man, apparently named G, shrugged and sent a glare towards Reborn. "I was getting there, and _he _started it."

The blonde, who looked to be the same age as G, simply sighed and shook his head. "What are you, five-year-old's?" after that, he turned towards Reborn and his companions with a friendly smile. "I apologize for his behavior, he's been in a bad mood since this morning. Welcome back, Reborn. As for you five, welcome to Italy and the Vongola headquarters. I'm Giotto, Vongola Decimo, and this is G, my Storm Guardian and right-hand man."

Tsuna gasped when he heard the introduction and moved to get a better view of the other. The Vongola Decimo was nothing like what he'd imagined – with the mental image being some grumpy, scary-looking old man. In reality, the blonde was a handsome young adult with spiky hair similar to his own (though the bangs were longer) and stunning sky blue eyes, dressed in a neat pinstriped suit underneath a black cape. From his gentle tone and warm smile, Tsuna had a feeling Giotto really wasn't a bad person.

"About time you got out here, Giotto. It's good to see you, I suppose. Anyway, time for introductions." Reborn began to point at each person as he called out their names and Giotto moved to shake their hands. Once he got to Tsuna, the brunet could have sworn he saw surprise flashed through those brilliant blue orbs for a split second.

"Again, it's a pleasure to meet you all and welcome. I hope you'll enjoy your stay. Well, let's go inside first, you've been standing out here for too long." Giotto said and motioned them to head up to the castle that was Vongola headquarters.

Once more, Tsuna was reminded of how rich and powerful the Vongola Famiglia was as they stepped inside. _Everything _within the long main corridor alone screamed expensive, including the priceless antiques, artworks, chandeliers, etc. Not to mention the lines of butlers and maids that greeted them. _I'm seriously going to develop inferiority complex if this goes on. _

"Now, I would love to personally give you all a tour of the place, but I'm afraid I still have work to finish. Therefore, G will do that and show you to your rooms in my stead. After that, you can rest since you're probably still jet-lagged from the long flight. I'll introduce you to the rest of my guardians at dinner, some of them are on missions at the moment, but they should all be there later. I guess that's it, enjoy your stay and I'll see you at dinner,"Giotto explained and prepared to separate from the group, but paused to speak again when he remembered something else. "Oh, and Reborn, can you stay back? I need to have a word with you, it's not like you don't know the way around here anyway." Reborn simply shrugged and followed the blonde into another corridor which eventually led to the Decimo's office.

With the door shut, insuring that the two could talk in private, Giotto took off his cape and leaned against his desk before facing Reborn, who chose a spot by the wall. "You have some explaining to do."

Reborn smirked and tilted his fedora upwards, feigning innocence. "What do you mean?"

Giotto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Why are you here, with _Tsunayoshi _no less? If I remember correctly, he's now the Chief of police in Namimori, right?"

The hitman hummed an affirmative before answering the other question, "A case came up that requires us to come to Italy, so I figure might as well make it training for him and the others."

"And judging from before, he doesn't know I'm his half-brother, does he?"

"Nope, but don't tell him yet. Let him figure it out himself, it's more fun that way."

"Looks like you still love messing with people. Anyway, if you're doing training here, does that mean it's time?"

"No, not yet. Tsuna's not ready, his physical strength's acceptable, he has the qualities of a good leader and he did show good intuition once in a while, but that's about it. But since we're here and he already knows about Dying Will Flames and the Mafia, might as well tell him the rest sooner rather than later and let him experience the Mafia first hand. Guess I'll be needing those Dying Will pills/bullets after all. And I'll probably need to see Talbot tomorrow or sometime in the near future, they need weapons and boxes."

"Is Dad aware of any of this?"

"Iemitsu doesn't have a clue, no. Speaking of the idiot, is he around? I can't wait to see his face when he sees you and Tsuna together here."

"He's at CEDEF headquarters most of the time, but does drop by every now and then. Hey, and were those four Tsunayoshi's guardians?"

"Some of them, yes. The bunch is quite similar to yours, actually."

"We'll see. So, do you need my help with the case?"

"No, though it isn't an easy one, it's not the most difficult either. We should be able to handle it on our own. Besides, I think you have more than enough on your plate." Reborn declined and eyed the pile of documents behind Giotto smugly.

At the mention of the accursed paperwork, the Decimo sighed wearily. "Don't remind me. Alright, but if you need any help, feel free to tell me. And I'm guessing you're staying here at least until the case is finished?"

"Of course, hope that's alright with you," without waiting for an answer, Reborn stepped away from the wall and headed for the door. "Well, I should probably get going and leave you to your work. We can talk again some other time, you need to fill me in on anything important that happened in the past few years anyway. See you at dinner."

When he reached the door, Reborn stopped to add in a final message. "By the way, don't forget to use this time for some brother-bonding with Tsuna. You two haven't seen each other since he was three and you were seven, right?"

Giotto did not answer for a moment, like he was thinking it over. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Reborn gave the blonde one last wave before exiting and closing the door behind him. _Hmm, when would be a good time to tell Dame-Tsuna…_He pondered upon the question until he'd reached a bedroom, the same one he'd occupied years ago, and finally decided on an answer: after the group had gotten somewhat used to the new setting. _Then again, tonight isn't a bad time either._

* * *

Tsuna sighed and hung up the last of his clothes into the built-in closet. Since he didn't know how long this mission would take, might as well unpack his things. With that over and done with, he turned to look at the spacious room once more. It was not just a bedroom, but an entire suite. Still, the bathroom and all the decors he could understand, but the canopy hanging above the king-size bed was a little too much. Also, the others had agreed upon giving their boss this particular guestroom since it was the only one with a balcony that provided perfect view of the main inner garden below.

_So...what should I do now? _Looking blankly at the digital clock above the large flat screen TV, which did not fit the vintage setting of the place at all, Tsuna saw that he still had more than three hours until dinner (G had told them to meet up at 7 in the dining room). _Maybe I could go have another look around the castle to make sure I know the way. _Nodding to himself, the brunet set out into the corridor alone. Gokudera and Yamamoto's rooms were on both sides of his and Mukuro and Hibari's were opposite, but he didn't want to disturb any of them – not that he could imagine inviting either the last two. As for Reborn, he had no idea where that man was.

_**...Twenty minutes later...**_

_I should've known going by myself would be a bad idea. _Tsuna didn't know which he should blame, the castle's size and confusing layout or his Dame-ness...probably a mix of both. No matter what was to blame, he was still lost without a single clue on how to get back to where he started, or the meeting place later for that matter. _Hiiiiiee! What am I going to do?! _Tsuna screamed inwardly and prepared to bang his head against the wall.

"...Tsunayoshi?" Someone called his name and a hand rested on his shoulder, causing another round of the high-pitched shriek aloud.

While still yelping, the brunet jumped back and turned to identify who had almost given him a heart attack, only to come face-to-face with Vongola Decimo. Apparently, during his panicking, he'd failed to notice the latter entering the corridor from another room nearby. "D-D-Decimo...san?"Tsuna trailed off weakly, not entirely sure on how to address the man and the honorific just came along by habit. His face reddened from embarrassment as he realized how weird 'Decimo-san' sounded. "W-what are you doing here?"

Giotto chuckled softly as he replied, "Please, just call me Giotto. Sorry about before, I didn't mean to startle you. And I could ask you the same thing."

"OK then, umm, Giotto-san. Well, I wanted to see if I remembered the way around the place and...I got lost," Tsuna wanted to face-palm, he'd only been here for a little over an hour and he was already screwing up. _Reborn is so gonna kill me if he finds out. _"Sorry, I'm really clumsy and not very good with directions."

"No, it's fine. This can happen to anyone, so there's no need to apologize. Let's see, we're on the third floor. This corridor is where my and my guardians' offices are located, along with the library and a few conference rooms. We're near the main entrance and the guestrooms are in the far back building so you've wandered quite a distance. Were you heading anywhere in particular?"

"Not really, I was just trying to follow the paths G-san showed earlier. I thought I remembered the way, but guess not."

"I see, maybe I should tell G to get some maps for you guys. In the meantime, would you like me to show you around once more?"

"Eh? B-but don't you have work? I mean, I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"Actually, I've just been given a break since most of the paperwork already. G locked me up in the office ever since morning, I only managed to escape to greet your group before I have to return to the office or feel his wrath. Anyway, should we go?"

_Wow, that sounds so much like Reborn and me. I sympathize with you, Giotto-san. _"Umm…are you sure? You don't have to do this, you should use your break for resting or something."

"I can always do that later, don't worry about it," Giotto smiled and reached out to ruffle Tsuna's hair, much to his surprise. "Let's go."

It was obvious that the blonde wasn't going to take a 'no' for an answer so Tsuna nodded and started following after him. _Should I be walking 3 steps behind or that sort of thing? He _is _the boss. _Just to be safe, Tsuna decided to do that. But after the first two minutes, he gave up on it when Giotto kept stopping to wait for him.

…_**Thirty minutes later…**_

_This is getting awkward. _Tsuna thought as they continued down one ridiculously long corridor without a single room. Hence, no words had been spoken for some time. _Maybe I should try making a conversation to break the silence. But what should I say? What if I stuff up something and he starts getting suspicious?! We'll all be killed!_

"Tsunayoshi, are you okay? You seem edgy." Giotto asked, looking at the shorter male with concern.

"H-huh? No, I'm fine, just thinking about something," Tsuna laughed nervously and shook his head rapidly, feeling like he was sweating buckets. _Oh God, he picked up my mood so fast! Was that Hyper Intuition?! (_In reality, Giotto had only asked that since he'd noticed how pale and jumpy Tsuna looked.)_ I'm scared! Where's Reborn when I need him?! _…_where _was_ the man? Come to think of it, Giotto-san's probably the last person to see him. _"Umm, G-Giotto-san, do you know where Reborn is?"

"Hmm? He left after we talked for about ten minutes, haven't you seen him?"

Tsuna shook his head. "No, he didn't come to take one of the guestrooms."

"Oh, then he must be in his old room. He used to stay in this place until he left for Japan seven years ago, you became his student since then, right?"

_At least we're talking about a relatively harmless topic. _"Yes, he also taught my friends that came here with me."

"When I was younger, Reborn was my tutor. And a sadistic one at that."

"Not much have changed about him then."

"Unfortunately. By the way, your Italian is very good, Reborn taught you well."

"R-really? I've only learnt it recently so I was afraid the people here wouldn't understand. Then again, Reborn would have killed me if it wasn't up to his standards." Giotto chuckled as Tsuna shuddered in fear.

"Don't worry, you sound quite fluent. But, if you'd feel more comfortable, my guardians and I can speak to you guys in Japanese. It'll be a good chance for us to practice the language. I haven't used Japanese for a while so I might be a little rusty."

"It's up to you, Giotto-san. But I think _I'm _the one who needs practise in Italian. Umm, but why do you know Japanese anyway?"

"Well, I need to know multiple languages for business purposes, but it's mainly because I'm half Japanese."

Tsuna stopped on his track and stared at the man with widened eyes. "EH?! Y-you're h-half Japanese?!" _wait a minute, that sounded sort of rude. _"I-I mean, you don't look like you have Asian heritage." He added after the realization.

"It's alright, I get that a lot. But yes, it's true, my father's Japanese," Giotto paused, considering whether or not he should drop hints that they were related. _Maybe I should, Tsunayoshi deserves to know. _"Actually, my stepmother and half-brother live in Namimori."

The brunet's eyes widened further, if that was even possible, as he received another shock. "That's such a coincidence, I have a half-brother, too! Well, I don't know much about him. Mom says I've met him before, but I don't remember at all. Apparently he's following my dad's footsteps, whatever it is that he does."

Giotto resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow,Tsuna didn't pick up the hints at all. He would've thought their similarities in appearance and that new piece of information would be enough for the brunet to start putting two and two together. Not knowing how to respond to Tsuna's answer, he just nodded. Before Tsuna could start asking for names of the blonde's relatives in Japan, which would have put Giotto in an awkward position, they reached the last stop for the little tour of the castle.

"And this is the dining room we're using later, it's just two corridors from your room. Do you think you remembered everything now?"

"Y-yes, I should be fine. Thank you very much, Giotto-san." Tsuna smiled brightly, enough to melt the coldest of hearts.

_Cute._ Giotto smiled and ruffled the soft chocolate-colored hair once more, noting that the action was becoming a habit. He could definitely get used to having a little brother like Tsuna around. "You're welcome, feel free to look for me if you have any other problems. So, what are you doing now? There's still plenty of time left until dinner."

"I'm not sure…" Tsuna trailed off, going through all the options in his mind. Then, the main garden nearby caught his eyes. "I'll probably be going for a walk around the garden over there, it looks really nice. After that, I'll stay in my room."

"That sounds like a good plan. Most of the flowers are in blooming season so you've have quite a nice view, and it'll take you a while to go through the entire garden. Well, if you need me, I'll be in the library. See you later, Tsunayoshi." Unable to resist temptation, Giotto messed up the brown mob one last time and got a pout in return as Tsuna tried to fix his hair. _Yep, definitely cute._

"S-see you at dinner, Giotto-san." With a wave, the blonde turned to walk away. As he watched the older man leaving, Tsuna smiled to himself. _When Reborn mentioned Vongola Decimo was kind, he wasn't lying. Giotto-san helped me without a second thought even though we've only met hours ago. _He couldn't help but think the way Giotto treated him was almost like an older brother.

* * *

To say Vongola headquarters' garden had "quite a nice view" (Giotto's exact words) would be the understatement of the year. As he made his way through the garden, Tsuna had the word 'amazed' written all over his face. The place was surrounded by immaculately trimmed hedges that were taller than him and included countless species of flowers – some he had never seen before -with vibrant colors and fragrances. Also, the garden was _huge_. He'd been wandering around for a good half an hour and was still nowhere close to the other end. In fact, it looked like he'd just stepped into the center of the garden where the shrubs gave way to a large fountain with multiple sculptures and crystal-clear water.

"Midori tanabiku, namimori no~" A squeaky voice sang and sounds of wings flapping were heard. Soon after, a small canary flew down from the highest statue in the fountain and landed onto Tsuna's head, quickly making itself comfortable in the makeshift nest of hair.

"Eh? Hibird?"Tsuna reached up to touch the cute bird, and then realization struck like a slap to the face. "W-w-wait a minute, if you're here…then…that means…" he gulped, hoping what he had in mind was wrong, but a tired yawn came right on cue.

As expected, Hibari appeared from the other side of the fountain. "For disturbing my sleep, prepare to be bitten to death," he said smugly in Italian, tonfas in both hands, but stopped when he recognized the intruder. "Oh, it's you."

"H-hi, Hibari-san," Tsuna waved weakly, but started backing away when he remembered he was about to be bitten to death. "Hiiiiee! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here! I'll leave right away!"

"Omnivore," hearing the call, Tsuna flinched and paused mid-step."Come back here…Don't worry, I'm not going to bite you to death, I'm not in the mood." Hibari added, withdrawing the tonfas and the other sighed in relief.

Tsuna gingerly turned around and walked back to the skylark, who had sat down on the edge of the fountain. Seeing Tsuna still keeping a safe distance between them, Hibari rolled his eyes and patted a spot next to him. The brunet, who was very confused at the moment, did as told – albeit hesitantly. Right after he'd sat down, he almost jumped back up when Hibari lied down with his head resting on his lap. "Hiiiiiee!Hibari-san, w-w-what are you d-doing?!" Tsuna shrieked with his face reddening rapidly, but made no move to push the skylark away – for that would definitely result in his death.

"Stop screaming so loud, omnivore. As punishment for waking me up earlier, you're going to be my pillow. Also, we're playing _that _game."

"T-that game?" Tsuna searched in his mind, trying to remember what the skylark was talking about. In return, he got a flashback of a hospital room, a pile of unconscious patients courtesy of Hibari, and himself in a cast. "Y-y-you mean like the time w-we were in the hospital?"

"Yes, same rules, wake me up again and I'll bite you to death." _But you just said you weren't in the mood! _Tsuna screamed in his mind, not aloud since Hibari already had his eyes shut. _What am I going to do?! I can't move! _Oblivious to his turmoil, Hibird also followed his master's example and fell asleep on top of Tsuna's head, snuggling comfortably into the chocolate locks.

_Guess I have no choice. _With a sigh of defeat, Tsuna accepted his fate and relaxed a bit. In an attempt to ignore the numbing sensation in his legs, he looked up at the sky, now orange-red because of the setting sun. The winds blowing were getting colder by the minute, but he barely felt it, thanks to the warmth of a second body so close – and also because he was blushing like there was no tomorrow. _What is Hibari-san thinking?! Anyone could walk in at any moment and see us, and that would be so embarrassing! _Plus, Tsuna hadn't got a clue on how to explain if someone saw the two of them like this. _Then again, knowing Hibari-san's personality, he probably wouldn't give a damn about other people's opinion._

Letting out another long sigh, Tsuna's eyes drifted down to the dark-haired man, intrigued by how peaceful he looked when asleep. For a moment, he actually wanted to touch Hibari's hair and maybe start stroking it in soothing motions, but hesitated from not having a death wish. After a while of staring at the skylark, Tsuna felt his eyelids gradually drooping downwards and eventually gave into the calling of sleep.

* * *

It's been over an hour since he'd parted with Tsuna, and Giotto decided it was time to leave the library and head for the dining room. He was in a good mood, having a normal conversation for the first time ever with his younger brother was very enjoyable. Plus, it sure as hell beat doing paperwork with G watching his every move to make sure he didn't slack off.

Walking through a hallway on the third floor, the Decimo glanced down at the inner garden through one of the windows, absentmindedly thinking that Tsuna would've left long ago. But, he was proven wrong when he spotted the mob of gravity-defyinghair peeking out from the other side of the fountain. Opening his custom-made golden pocket watch, one that his guardians also had, Giotto saw that dinner would be starting in less than ten minutes. _He must have lost track of time, I should call him to come with me. _The blonde smiled and nodded to himself, heading for a different corridor to descent to ground level. _Though he's twenty-two, Tsunayoshi still acts like a child, being amazed by everything in this castle…Oh well, that's one of his cute points, I guess._

Having lived in the Vongola headquarters for quite some time, Giotto easily made his way through the shortest route possible towards the garden and was now just a few turns away from where Tsuna was, assuming that he hadn't moved. By now, the sun had almost disappeared, letting darkness of night take over. Fortunately, small lights were imbedded into the grounds and some within the hedges, illuminating the paths around the garden.

When the fountain came into view, Tsuna could be seen sitting by the water with his head tilted down, fast asleep. Giotto wasn't surprised to see his half-brother dozing off, but what he had not been expecting, was the third person. Lying on the stone edge with his head on Tsuna's lap was a dark-haired male whose name he remembered to be Kyouya Hibari. Seeing the two so comfortable and in such an intimate position, Giotto felt a strange sense of irritation and instinctively moved closer. As he inched forward, just steps away from them, the sound of one single footstep was enough to wake Hibari. Though it was dark, he could clearly make out those piercingly cold blue-gray eyes glaring directly at him.

* * *

Being a light sleeper with fast reflexes, Hibari was immediately awoken when he heard an intruder approaching. The skylark wasted no time in getting off Tsuna and taking out his tonfas – though waking his companion in the process – while glaring at the shadowed figure nearby. Once his eyes had adjusted to the surrounding, he recognized the newcomer. It was the blond herbivore, also known as Vongola Decimo.

"H-Hibari-san?"Tsuna called from behind him, still rubbing his eyes to shake off the sleepiness. "Is something wrong?" When he didn't receive an answer, the brunet blinked and searched for where Hibari was. Noticing the glare and the tonfas, but not directed at him, Tsuna followed the gaze and gaped. "Eh? Giotto-san?"_Why is Giotto-san here? _And was it just him, or was that electric sparks flying between the two?

* * *

**A/N: Come on, you know you love me and my cliff hangers. :) And...surprise? Giotto and Tsuna are stepbrothers so G27 would count as incest, I didn't warn earlier since I wanted to keep the surprise. Hope you guys don't mind and would keep reading. I personally don't mind since most G27 are like this and they're only **_**half **_**related. So yeah, that's that. Oh and did I mention I haven't actually decided for this to be 1827 or G27? ^^; I'm really stuck between the two pairings, they share first place on my list...along with a couple more. Why must Tsuna be so easy to pair up with any **_**male **_**character. Anyway, so tell me which do you want, 1827 or G27, as main. **

**Review Reply Corner:**

**Marisay-chan: Thanks for reviewing! And there you have it, they met. Haha, apparently most are thinking G2718 is an interesting pairing, good. ^^ I wouldn't say they're "sharing", it would be more like fighting over Tsuna. As for your question, Reborn is with the police to continue watching over Tsuna, but you'll get a more detailed explanation in due time.**

**MaddyS: LOL, Mukuro is definitely a pervert, especially for Tsuna, so I have to add some to this story. ^^ If you liked 1827, there will be more moments to come, like above for instance. ^^ Thanks for the review!**

**Just Another Fan: If you were disappointed with the last cliff hanger, you'd probably want to kill me by now. ^^. I totally agree, the ending of the arc was extremely anti-climatic. And I want the Arcobaleno to return to their hot adult forms! I happen to like R27, so now that Reborn is way younger than Tsuna, that killed any chance of fanservice for me. T_T Haha, I would **_**love **_**to work with Amano-sensei. Maybe I could convince her to turn KHR into yaoi, that would be awesome. XD And thanks for reviewing!**

**Exile Wrath: Well, it was disappointing to me with how anti-climatic it was. I expected some epic fight between Tsuna and Checkerface, but all we got was talking...the hell?! And then the Arcobaleno, why can't they get their adult forms?! Not only would there be no chance of some R27 fanservice, ColoLal would also not happen and they're like the only straight pairing I can stand in the series! T_T I'm glad there's another arc though, the end of Curse of the Rainbow seemed like the perfect place to cut and since there were rumors floating around, I was so scared that the manga was ending. I'll probably cry when that happens! I see, glad I'm not the only Vietnamese fangirl around here. XD LOL, perverted Mukuro seems to be more popular than I thought, maybe I'll bring him back sometimes. ^^ Hmm, didn't actually think of a flashback, but now that you mention it, I'm gonna steal the idea. Kufufufufu... ^^ And there you go, the beginning of the triangle. Thank you for reviewing! (man, that is one long reply)**

**Ageha Sakura: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you're still reading, keep up the good work and I will too! XD**

**Anello di Tempesta: Yeah, I understand, everybody have their busy times, I probably will as well in a couple of weeks when exams start rolling in. LOL, the Vongola are definitely involved and I'm happy you like the story. Hope the meeting was good enough. ^^ Still haven't fixed the USB yet, I've been too lazy this past week to do anything about it. The problem is write protection which prevented me from making any changes to the thing, like deleting stuff or formatting. I was following instructions online, wiped the entire drive out already, thought all I need to do now was format it, but it didn't work...Crap. I think I stuffed up the usb. But I'm not giving up yet! I will fix it with my dying will! XD All my friend said when I told her was "that's what you get for buying cheap stuff online". XD Thanks for reviewing!**

**XxShadowfangxX: Thanks for reviewing and liking the story!**

**Phew, that took a while, but keep the reviews coming! They're my motivation! This week's special deal: for every review, I will donate 50 cents to charity. Random? I know, but a nice thing to do, right? ^^ It's sorta a part of a kindness project I have to do for class...don't ask. **

**(Another) Author's rant: The first chapter of the newest arc almost killed me. Amano-sensei, why are you torturing me like this?! Shonen series should not have too much romance so why now?! Tsuna and one of the girls, it's my worst nightmare as a yaoi fangirl! He's the cutest uke ever, I don't want to see him with any of the females, **_**especially **_**Kyoko and Haru. _ On another, much brighter note, I just finished making Mukuro's trident! I'm so proud of myself, I've never been very good at crafts. ^^; Since it cost more than $100 online and I plan to cosplay as Chrome in a convention, I have no choice but to make one by hand. **

**See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, normally I would leave this for Author's rate at the end, but I can't keep it in! I can't believe Reborn! manga ended like that! The WORSE ending ever! There'd better be plans for a sequel 'cause I can't accept the fact that such a great series would end on such low notes!**

***sigh* I'm so depressed. But guess there's nothing to be done about it. Anyway, let's get back to the story. Thank you for all the reviews (Twenty-one?! I think I died and went to heaven! XD). Also faves, alerts and readers. To all reviewers, congratulation, you raised $10.50 for charity. ^^ **

**Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn, should it belonged to me, would still be continuing for a long time to come. *goes cry some more***

Chapter 4

Hearing Tsuna call his name, Giotto turned to said brunet to greet him. "I was passing by and saw you still in here, so I decided to go call you or you'll be late for dinner," he paused and eyed Hibari, though it almost looked like a glare. "But I didn't know you had company, I apologize for disturbing you two."

"Huh?" Tsuna frowned, then blushed when he remembered what he and Hibari were doing. _Giotto-san saw us?! _He didn't know why he suddenly felt like he needed to clear up the misunderstanding right away, he just did. "It wasn't like that! We were…umm...err…" And he had no idea how to explain without having to talk about Hibari's weird game.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi interrupted my nap, that was his punishment," luckily, Hibari finished the job for him with the truth, no matter how weird it sounded. "That reminds me, I have to bite you to death for the same reason." The skylark smirked, raising the steel tonfas in attack stance.

Giotto frowned at the strange phrase, but flinched slightly and took a step back when he picked up the strong killing intent radiating from the other. His Hyper Intuition was telling him to prepare to go into Hyper Dying Will mode, but he had no intention of fighting someone he held no grudges against – minus that flare of irritation earlier. Nevertheless, the hand bearing the Vongola sky ring tensed.

"Hibari-san, w-wait…"Tsuna cut in, trying to prevent a fight from breaking out.

"Stay out of this, Sawada Tsunayoshi. That herbivore is the boss, right? So he must be strong. I want to fight him."

"You're a guest here, I have no reason to fight you." Giotto insisted, eyes narrowing a bit in warning.

"Oh? Then I'll just have to give you one." Hibari rushed forward, swinging one tonfa at the blonde's head with both speed and precision.

Giotto managed to narrowly avoid the blow and moved to one side to make some distance between them, still not wanting to fight back. But Hibari didn't leave him much choice when he prepared to attack again. The skylark advanced towards him and he began calling forth his Dying Will. Sky flame ignited on his forehead, sky blue eyes turned to a fiery orange, and X-Gloves covered his hands as another tonfa came closer. He was ready to catch the weapon and melt it to liquid steel, Zero Point Breakthrough would work just as well, but that may be overdoing it a little. If Hibari was surprised by his change in appearance, he didn't show it.

Unaware of the Decimo's plan, out of nowhere, Tsuna suddenly jumped in and intervened. The smaller male now stood before him and faced Hibari, as if he intended on taking the blow instead. "Tsunayoshi!" Giotto called, panic evident in his voice.

Fortunately, Hibari noticed the interference and halted just before the steel weapon came in contact. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, what do you think you're doing?" the raven hissed, his patience clearly wearing thin. The fact that Tsuna just took someone, a stranger, else's side didn't go unnoticed either. "Get out of the way _now, _or you'll get hurt."

Giotto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only had Hibari disregarded his boss's order to stop from earlier, almost attacked him, he was now_ threatening _him. _What was Reborn thinking?! How can this person possibly become one of Tsunayoshi's guardians?! Even _Alaude _wouldn't do this, and that was saying something! _

"Please stop this, Hibari-san! We're on a mis-I mean, we're here for a visit with Reborn, not for starting fights. I know you're not happy that Giotto-san disturbed your sleep, but that shouldn't be a reason for such a big commotion. If you still insist on fighting, then you'll have to go through me first." Large honey-colored eyes filled with determination stared at Hibari, but also pleadingly.

Just by looking at Hibari, Tsuna knew he was in a _very _bad mood so he wasn't expecting the skylark to back down easily. But, by some incredible miracles, he was wrong. After giving the two death glares for what seemed like hours, Hibari swiftly turned and left – though Tsuna had a feeling he would be paying dearly for this incident later.

Seeing that the danger was finally averted, Tsuna released a long sigh of relief before facing Giotto and bowing profusely in apology with a speed that would put Gokudera to shame. "I'm so sorry about Hibari-san! Please don't take it too personally, he's like that to everyone! Hibari-san is just very proud and loves fighting a little too much! I know you're probably very mad at us right now, and you have every right to be, but please forgive us! I'm really sor-" Giotto, who had deactivated his flame, placed a gloveless finger against Tsuna's lips, effectively silencing him. When he let go, the brunet gasped for air, completely out of breath from his long apology.

"Calm down, it's OK, I'm not mad."

"Eh? Y-you're n-not?"

"No."_Not at you, anyway. _Giotto added silently. To reassure the younger male, he used one hand to ruffle the already windblown brown hair.

"…Thank you, Giotto-san." Tsuna smiled gratefully. He was awestricken, there should be a limit to how kind-hearted a person can be! He'd honestly expected Giotto to be offended and kicked them out, or worse, dealing with them Mafia-style. After all, the blonde had shown them nothing but hospitality and they repaid him with…_that. First I got lost and made a fool of myself, then Hibari-san _attacked _Vongola Decimo. If Reborn hears of this, I'm dead meat for sure! And it's only the _first _day!_

"But, Tsunayoshi," hearing his name called, the brunet broke away from his thoughts and focused on the other. "You shouldn't have jumped right into the middle of a fight like that, what if Hibari didn't stop in time?"

"Well," Tsuna laughed lightly and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I kind of trusted Hibari-san to be able to. He has fast reflexes and I know from training what he's capable of."

Another wave of irritation washed over him, but Giotto successfully kept that emotion from showing in his voice. "You trust him that much?"

"Umm, I know you two definitely started off on the wrong foot, but Hibari-san isn't a bad person at all. So yes, I trust him."

"Oi, Giotto, brat! What the hell are you two still doing down there?!" Another person yelled from a window on the second floor before Giotto could reply to Tsuna. When the two looked up, they saw that the speaker was G. "Hurry up and get your asses to the dining room, we're all starving!" After saying what he needed to, the redhead left.

Giotto blinked and finally remembered what his right-hand man and best friend was talking about. "Looks like we're late and everyone's waiting, let's get going."

* * *

As they've thought, everybody else was present in the room and appeared to have been waiting for quite some time. Although, technically, not _everybody_ was there. Giotto noticed that two of his guardians were absent. "G, where are Daemon and Lampo?"

"Melonhead's not back yet, he did call to say there is a delay, but he'll return by tomorrow. And the spoiled brat went to his room to sleep as soon as he got back, saying he was too tired."

"Can you go call him? It's not good to skip meals and then order the cooks to make things later. Plus, we have guests, I want to introduce everyone."

"Fine. Damn it, why do _I_ have to be the one running around doing errands?" G growled and exited to do as told while still muttering curses under his breath.

In another part of the room, an entirely different conversation between the right-hand man and his boss was taking place. "Juudaime! I was so worried when the sword idiot and I came to your room and you weren't there!" Gokudera exclaimed, relieved to finally see his boss safe and sound.

"S-sorry, Gokudera-kun. I went for a walk and…_a lot_ of things happened."

"You should've called me to come with you! It's dangerous to go by yourself."

"Umm, you guys all looked tired from the flight here so I didn't want to bother anyone."

"It would've been my pleasure to accompany you, not a bother!"

Tsuna chuckled weakly, when it comes to exaggerating and overreacting, Gokudera definitely won hands down. "I-I'll be sure to do that next time, Gokudera-kun. Let's go sit down, I think we're making a scene." The brunet ended the talk and ushered his friend back to the table where everyone else were. He almost fainted from embarrassment when Gokudera made a move to pull the chair out for him.

When they'd settled down and G had returned along with another green-haired male, their attention was turned to one end of the table where Giotto sat as the blonde began talking. "Sorry to have kept you all waiting, but I bumped into some trouble on the way here." Hearing that, Reborn glared from the corners of his eyes at the three people he had warned on the jet.

"Putting that aside, I believe some more introductions are in place. These are the rest of my guardians, except for the Mist, Daemon. The Rain, Sun, Lightning and Cloud guardians are Ugetsu Asari, Knuckle, Lampo and Alaude respectively," Giotto stopped and pointed out each person in order. "And these are Reborn's students: Tsunayoshi Sawada, Hayato Gokudera, Takeshi Yamamoto, Mukuro Rokudo and Kyouya Hibari." The last name came out with _just _a little more emphasis than necessary, but they both ignored it.

The two sides exchanged pleasantries, some friendlier than others. After that, the three-course dinner started as the maids brought in the entrée of a minestrone, followed by Linguini a Vongole (pun intended) for main and lastly, chocolate pistachio cheesecake. The foods were obviously very different from Japan's, but Tsuna personally thought it was delicious. He was also grateful that Reborn had made him mastered Western utensils some time ago.

Throughout the meal, he noticed that Giotto and his guardians looked to be very close friends, though some may not seem like it or would not admit it. The way the guardians acted actually reminded Tsuna of his own friends. For example, G's snappy comments and colorful language towards pretty much everyone, the way Asari laughed it off, Lampo's lazy and self-centered attitude and Alaude was almost a copy of Hibari – though maybe a bit calmer and less violent. Once the meal was over, Reborn decided now would be the best time to drop the bombshell. "I have something to announce. Tsuna, it concerns _you _especially, and maybe Giotto."

In response, said brunet raised an eyebrow curiously and put down the napkin he was using to wipe his lips. "Eh? M-me?"

Reborn nodded. "So, Giotto, should I do the honor or you?"

All eyes turned to the blonde. "…I might as well do it," after taking a deep breath, he looked directly into the honey-colored orbs. "Tsunayoshi, the truth is…we're half-brothers."

Most of the people in the room were surprised, with Tsuna predictably the most shocked. Gokudera was the first to openly react, doing a spit-take with the glass of red wine he was drinking right at the person sitting opposite, who happened to be G, when he heard the news. The redhead growled and reached for his gun in its holster, but was quickly stopped by Asari and Giotto. Seconds ticked by and Tsuna still hadn't responded, merely gaping with wide eyes.

"Tsunayoshi? You OK?" Giotto asked, he didn't expect the announcement to be _that _surprising and would have so much impact.

"He's just shocked to know his half-brother's a Mafia boss." Reborn explained and reached over to flick his student's forehead, successfully snapping him out of his stupor.

Tsuna muttered an 'ow' and pouted at his ex-tutor, then he noticed Giotto looking at him expectantly. "Umm…are you sure you're not mistaken? I'm pretty sure my half-brother's name is Ieyasu."

"That's one of my aliases, though I prefer Giotto since it' easier for business around here."

"O-oh. Wait, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I did drop hints, you just didn't realize. And Reborn told me not to tell you openly."

Tsuna turned to the hitman, tempted to give him the darkest glare he could muster. Why did all the things that manage to surprise him always trace back to that man in some way?

"Alright, I think it's time for all of us to leave and let the two talk by themselves." Reborn said and stood up, his dark eyes sending the message "do as I say or die". The others seemed to understand the silent threat and began shuffling out of the room.

"Reborn, wait! How did you even know about this?!" Tsuna called out after him.

"We'll talk later, Dame-Tsuna." The hitman gave a final smirk and waved before leaving, shutting the door quietly behind him.

The two siblings now stared at each other in silence, waiting for one to speak. Since it didn't look like Tsuna would be doing that any time soon, Giotto took the initiative. "You probably have a lot of questions, go on."

"Umm...then, let's start from the beginning. Have you always known we were brothers?"

"Yes, your mother – well, also my stepmother – is right, we've met before. It was when Dad flew back to Japan for the wedding, he dragged me with him. You were three and I was seven so of course it would've been hard for you to remember. Although, I admit I'm kind of glad you don't. I _was _a little hostile back then since I believed you two were the reason for my mother and Dad splitting up. You can blame it on childhood naivete."

"It's alright, I would've done the same. Oh! Now that you mentioned Dad, does he know about you being Vongola Decimo?"

"Not only does he know, he's part of the Vongola."

"EH?! Dad's a Mafioso?!"

"What did he tell you he does?"

"He always dresses as a miner and apparently travels around the world. His latest postcard had a picture of penguins in the North Pole. I guess him working for Vongola do explain a lot, like how did our parents have so much saving in their account. But Dad went and used that all up to buy a pair of solid gold pickaxe and shovel. Where exactly is he right now anyway?"

Giotto raised an eyebrow, he knew their father was a bit eccentric, but that was _way _over the top. "He's here in Sicily with us, but at a different headquarters. He's the leader of CEDEF, also known as the External Adviser of Vongola. If you consider in terms of power, he has just about as much as I do."

Tsuna gaped, he really could not imagine Iemitsu holding such important position. After all, every time the man was home, all he did was act extremely lovey-dovey with Nana, get drunk and laze around the house. Father of the year, right? "Does he visit you often?"

"About once a month, sometimes more. But it's mainly for business. He always tries to get us to act more like a family, but I've never seen the point."

"Oh, I haven't seen him in years. Speaking of which, umm…why haven't you come to Japan for a visit? Or is it that…you don't think of my mom and me as family?" Tsuna felt a pang of sadness as he added the last question, he didn't want to think that Giotto didn't like him. But that wouldn't explain his actions for the entire day.

"At the beginning, I honestly didn't want to go, again, childhood naivete. Then, I got busy training with Vongola Nono to inherit the position of Decimo. After that, I became Decimo and barely had time for anything else. Plus, I thought _you _didn't like _me_."

"Huh? What makes you think that?"

"When we met for the first time, you always either cry or run away whenever you saw me."

Tsuna blinked a few times before blushing, that _did _sound like something he would do. "Umm, I think you misunderstood. I was really shy as a child so I did that to everyone I was afraid of."

"Oh. Well, I was practically glaring at you every time anyway so I wasn't exactly the friendliest person you'd met. Thanks Tsunayoshi, good to know I wasn't hated. I'm glad we had this talk." Giotto smiled happily and reached out to do something that was becoming his favorite hobby, messing up Tsuna's hair. It was just very addictive, like petting a bunny.

"M-me, too, Giotto-san." The younger brunet answered, also smiling brightly.

"Hmm, since you know we're brothers, how about addressing me as one?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, maybe 'Onii-san' or 'Onii-chan'?"

"W-w-wh-what?!"

Giotto had to laugh aloud at his brother's reaction, he looked exactly like a bug-eyed goldfish. "Calm down, Tsunayoshi. I'm just messing with you. However, I _do _want you to drop the 'san', it makes me feel old and distant."_Though we're not close siblings at the moment either. _But of course, that would change with time.

"O-o-okay then, G-Giotto…" Tsuna trailed off as heat rushed to his face, not used to calling someone by just their first names so intimately. _What am I thinking?! We're _brothers! Unbeknownst to him, Giotto was thinking the same thing. Though the blonde was happy about it and unconcerned with their relation, partly because of the Western influence.

"Great, thanks again, Tsunayoshi. Now, it's probably about time I return you to Reborn and your friends." Giotto said when he noticed they'd been talking for a while and pretty much everything had been discussed.

"Oh right, I should be going now." Tsuna agreed and stood up, heading for the door. _Reborn have _a lot _of answering to do. _The brunet hummed to himself, determined that he would get to the bottom of this no matter what his ex-tutor would throw at him…well, maybe except bullets.

* * *

**A/N: A chapter shorter than the rest so far. It was actually too long at first so I had to cut it into two. Oh and after this, I'll probably take a three-week break for exams. Expect an update at the end of November. ^^ **

**And from the votes, I believe 1827 is on 6 and G27 is on 11. Wow, a pretty surprising result. Feel free to keep voting for maybe the next couple of chapters. To G27 fans, sorry but you'll be seeing some more 1827 moments since G27 would probably take some time to get to and this author have Hibari as her favorite character. XD I can't believe how easy it is to turn a scene into 1827!**

**Review Replies: (This is gonna be long)**

**Magiting: Thanks for the review! Well, I have the case all sorted out so that part should be fine. I was struggling with the romance since I couldn't decide a pairing. ^^ **

**Mi-chan94: Yes, Tsuna is Giotto's brother, and he knows it now! Reborn will be explaining his end next chapter. Thank you for reviewing!**

**Kamami: There you go, an update! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Kamigoshi: Thanks! And yet, another vote for G27...**

**Dark-imagination: Thanks for the review! And above was the update you asked for. :)**

**NFGdP: Haha, good to know I'm not the only indecisive one. I do like forbidden things, chocolate, yaoi, etc. XD It's OK, I love that fic as well. It's definitely one of my favorites. And thank you for the review!**

**Ageha Sakura: Thanks! So I'm a troll now? ^^ Tsuna as uke FTW!**

**xRinyukix: Ahaha, guess this one was probably not long enough. Hopefully there aren't any grammatical errors left either. ^^ Since you mentioned both pairings, I just count it as a vote for each. And there will be more moments of both to come. Thanks for the review!**

**Animebaka14: Thanks for reviewing! Sadly, the next update will be even slower. Sorry! But I'm glad nobody seems to be minding incest.**

**Final Syai Lunar Generation: If I was disappointed with the arc's ending, I'm about ready to commit murder because of the manga's. Well, since the 1827G thing is getting people confused, I can change the summary. We'll see which pairing will prevail, though at this rate, I think it's G27. Lol, Tuna is one of Tsuna's nicknames so it's not spelling error. ^^ Thank you for the review!**

**Silent-insaneminako: Haha, glad I surprised someone. Yes, making that trident took awhile, but it was fun. And I actually followed instructions I found online. If only KHR was yaoi... *sigh* Thanks for reviewing!**

**Hayate The Soul Reaper: Thank you for the reviews and awesome comments! ^^ Yep, Tsuna can practically be paired with anyone, he's just too cute. Aww, am I converting someone into a yaoi fan? Cool! XD I'm happy you liked that scene, I enjoyed writing it. Oh Tsuna's going to be confused A LOT more in the future. ^^ And I just counted as you voted for both, by the way. Hope you'll keep reviewing!**

**Little Tsuna 27: Nice to know you're enjoying the story, and thanks for the review!**

**Emriel: Thanks! And Tsuna is the cutest uke ever, period. ^^**

**Aira-Chama: Thanks for reviewing, TWICE! XD Hahaha, it IS a hard question. ^^ You voted for both, no worries. I agree with you completely, Tsuna is much better suited with one of the guys. PS: Your ranting cost me 50 cents! Just kidding, I'm cool with it. XD**

**Yuuikilover: Thanks! Sorry if the next update isn't soon enough. **

**BeyondMyReach: Thank you for the review and vote!**

**Again, thank you for the massive amount of reviews, I hope you'll all keep enjoying the story and reviewing. See you next update!**

**Oh! Before I forget, I'm actually roleplaying in a KHR forum on here as Tsuna and Hibari (whooooo!). It's really fun and we're in needs of members. So go check it out in the forums section or there's a link at the bottom of my profile. It's called "KHR Roleplay Canon Characters Only". There're a lot of available characters so please, have a look and try it out! Also, in the forum, we're having a Secret Santa event that anyone can join. Of course, the gifts will be fics, but that means you'll also have to write one for someone else. **

**Ciao Ciao!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi there! As promised, I'm back! Ah, it's so nice to finally get exams out of the way and be free. And so, without further ado, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I were to own Katekyo Hitman Reborn… *sigh, still depressed about KHR ended***

Chapter 5

When he was by the door, Tsuna noticed Giotto just right behind and tilted his head questioningly. "The least I could do is walk you back," his older brother answered, then added light-heartedly, "Plus, we don't want you getting lost again, do we?"

"Hey! You're never going to let me live it down, will you?"

"Not for a long time to come."

In response, Tsuna pouted in defeat. "Whatever, just don't tell Reborn, OK? God knows what he would do to me."

"I understand, I've been there myself so your secret's safe with me." A smile crossed his lips and Giotto winked.

The two continued their small talk for the rest of the way until they'd reached their destination. Tsuna wasn't aware that they had been walking that fast, or maybe Giotto had used a shortcut. Either way, it was a lot quicker than he'd expected and they were now in a brightly lighted corridor, stopping right in front of his room.

"Well, here we are. Thanks for accompanying me...G-Giotto." Tsuna blushed as he stuttered again, this was going to take a while to get used to. _Wait a minute, why have we been talking like I would be here for a long time to come? After this mission, I'll be going back to Japan…Will we see each other again then? _

Before he could get wrapped up in his thoughts, Tsuna was pulled away from them as Giotto chuckled lightly. "You sound like you're trying very hard, keep it up. And it was no problem. Now, I should be getting back to work."

"You _still _have work?" Tsuna asked in disbelief and groaned inwardly, was every boss destined to be drowned in paperwork every day of his life?

"Not much, but still needs to be done. See you tomorrow, little brother."

"See you tomorrow." The brunet nodded with a smile and turned to enter his room.

It wasn't until the door had shut that Giotto realized he'd missed the chance to rub Tsuna's hair again. He shrugged, there was always tomorrow. As he walked away, a second sound of a door opening and closing was heard. Thinking that it was Tsuna forgetting something, he rotated around...only to be greeted by Hibari as he stepped out from the room opposite Tsuna's.

Instead of attacking him like Giotto would've thought, the skylark merely sent a death glare before walking towards Tsuna's room. "What do you think you're doing?" The blonde questioned, though it resembled a growl a little.

Hibari paused for a moment to reply, not bothering to look back. "I don't see how it's any of your business, hurry up and leave before I change my mind and bite you to death." Letting the threat hang in the air, he entered Tsuna's room without waiting for the other's response.

Giotto growled once more, tempted to get in there as well and knock the arrogant man down a few notches. Fortunately, he knew Tsuna wouldn't be alone with Hibari – when the door opened earlier, he'd heard other voices.

It's true that they've only been around each other for mere hours, minus that one incident _nineteen _years ago, but Giotto couldn't deny he'd taken a liking to Tsuna. Not only did the brunet have the ability to naturally draw people to him, he was drawing out a brotherly protectiveness Giotto didn't know he had. And because of that new-found protectiveness, he was definitely going to keep an eye on Hibari.

Since there weren't anything left to do in this place, Giotto reluctantly headed back to his office, silently reminding himself to seek Reborn out later for a much-needed talk.

* * *

Upon entering his room, Tsuna almost screamed when he was greeted by nearly all of his companions. Before he could open his mouth to ask why they were all there, he was immediately bombarded by Gokudera's questions. After reassuring the silveret that he was fine and that Giotto didn't try to assassinate him or anything, Tsuna was finally able to make his way over to Reborn.

"Reborn, you have a lot of explaining to do."

The hitman smirked from his spot on the bed while leisurely stroking his chameleon. "You said the same thing as Giotto earlier today, funny that."

"Can you _please _just tell me how you know about all of this?!"

"I told you, I've been working for the Vongola for years, of course I would know. Anyway, now that you've gotten over the fact that you're related to Giotto, you do realize what that means, right?"

Tsuna blinked and shook his head blankly, he had no clue at all.

"It means you're also part of this Famiglia and Blood of Vongola runs in you. In fact, I was sent by Iemitsu and Nono to train you to become Vongola Decimo."

"WHAT?!"Tsuna shouted in sync with Gokudera. "B-b-but why?! Doesn't that position belong to Giotto right now?!"

"Yes, and I'll explain if you shut up and stop yelling for one second," that effectively silenced the brunet. "Apparently, Nono had seen potential in both you and Giotto when you two were younger. Therefore, when it was time to choose an heir, he and Iemitsu were torn between the two choices. But since you were still too young and useless at that time, they agreed to let Giotto take the position while I train you and see how it goes. I would've told you all of this eventually, but since we're already here with the Vongola and all."

"Wait, if you knew I was related to the _Mafia_, why did you tell me to become a _policeman_?"

"_You're _the one who wanted a shot at a normal life, and that was the best choice since you'll be exposed to crimes and those stuffs at the same time. But now that the cat is out of the bag, this might as well be your last case."

"Don't I have a say in this at all?!"

"I suppose you do, but you have to talk with everyone in charge, aka Giotto, Nono and Iemitsu. Complaining to me won't do you any good."

"I'm going to do that first thing in the morning. I can't believe you kept all of this from me, and I don't want to be a Mafioso! I don't even look like one!" Tsuna cried and began pacing around the room, trying to calm down.

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn called to get his attention again. "Don't make hasty decisions, think this over thoroughly. If I didn't think you were fit for the job, I would've left years ago. At least spend some more time with Giotto, see what he does, how the Famiglia runs, etc. Then make your choice, deal?"

There was a moment of consideration before Tsuna answered quietly, "Deal." It was only fair that he heard Giotto out. And a part of him _was _excited at the thought of spending more time with his older brother. _I guess it's fine, as long as I don't see any illegal trading, assassinations or whatever else Mafiosi do. _He couldn't believe Reborn and his father wanted him to be a _Mafia boss. _He wanted to _help _people, not_ kill_ them! And up until recently, he was Dame-Tsuna. Who would want to follow a boss like that? "But…if I _did _choose to become part of Vongola, does that mean I have to stay here and leave everyone in Japan?" There was no way he could do that, nothing was more important than his friends and family! See how many problems there were with him being Vongola Decimo?

Seeing the troubled expression on Tsuna's face, Gokudera said what he thought would be best for reassuring his boss. "Juudaime, no matter what you chooses, I'd still follow you!"

"I wouldn't leave you either, Tsuna. Friends should stick together." Yamamoto added, swinging an arm over the brunet's small shoulders.

"Kufufufu, I would prefer to stick around as well. Without you, nothing interesting ever happens," Mukuro said, then glanced towards the doorway from the corner of his eye. "Say something, too, Hibari-kun."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, since when did Hibari get here? Nevertheless, he waited for the skylark's answer. "As long as there are herbivores for me to bite to death, I don't care where I am or what I do."

The brunet blinked, mind slowly registering his friends' words. When everything finally sunk in, his honey-colored eyes glittered as tears built up. "G-guys…thank you." Tsuna beamed brightly, wanting nothing more than to run over to hug every single one of them, and he did just that – though a little hesitant with a certain skylark. However, it happened, but only for a fraction of a second, completely one-sided on Tsuna's part and he wasn't bitten to death.

Then applauds were heard, breaking the emotional moment. Everyone turned around and saw Reborn still clapping, though the action didn't seem to be sarcastic. "It's great that you all decided on that. I knew I chose the right people."

"What are you talking about?" Tsuna asked in confusion, just how many more things were Reborn keeping from him?

"If Tsuna was to become the boss, he would need guardians just like Giotto's. And I've chosen you three and the others back in Japan for the job. You're all talented, get along well, cares for each other, and can use Dying Will Flames, that's pretty much all of the criteria."

"What?! You've been planning to drag all of us into the Mafia world all along?!"

"It's fine, none of them actually mind, right?" the hitman eyed the other men and received affirmative answers. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow, Giotto's guardians should be aware that Tsuna is also a candidate for the position of Decimo and what that would mean for all of you. Therefore, you can spend the day observing them or whatever. That would also be the perfect time to see if any of them is acting suspicious. And I would need to get your new weapons made before the training can begin which should only take one day at most. Clear?"

The others could only agree with a nod, anyone would do that while facing Reborn's dark eyes that promised a fate worse than death for those who did otherwise – he had had enough of debating against Tsuna for the night. Plus, they had nothing else to do until the investigation could continue so what was there to lose?

"Good, I'm glad you lot are finally cooperating. That makes thing so much easier," Reborn said smugly, satisfaction evident in his tone. "Now, it's been an eventful day – especially for some in particular. Yes, Dame-Tsuna, I know what happened with Giotto and Hibari. I suggest you go to bed early for a good rest. Let me tell you, almost, if not every day is hectic around here so you'll need all the strength you can get." With that, Reborn became the first to leave the room with a quick wave, closing the door behind him. Then, the rest gradually did the same until Tsuna was the only one left, it was his room after all.

* * *

One would think that after such a long day, sleep would come as easy as pie, but it didn't. Not when you've received one bombshell after another for the entire evening. Tsuna sighed and rolled over underneath the blanket for the umpteenth time. He'd barely gotten a couple of hours of sleep when he was woken up again, probably from still not being used to the surrounding and all the things that were on his mind. Knowing he wouldn't be getting back to sleep at this rate, Tsuna pushed himself off the bed and walked towards the balcony with another heavy sigh, hoping some fresh air might help.

Going outside did prove to be a good choice as the cool night air enveloped him. Tsuna leaned against the railings, resting his chin on his palms for support and stared at the starry sky. It was a clear day, so the crescent moon was fully visible and shining brightly, giving off a beautiful view. Tsuna made a silent note to thank his friends for giving him this room in the morning.

"Why aren't you asleep?" A monotonous voice asked, breaking the serene moment.

Reflex kicked in immediately and Tsuna prepared to scream with all his might while jumping back, but a warm hand covered his mouth just in time before he woke up the entire manor. Once he had calmed down enough, the hand was removed and Tsuna could speak again. "H-Hibari-san?" the brunet called as he recognized the messy black hair and sharp blue-gray eyes that were gleaming in the moonlight. "What are you doing here? And please don't scare me like that again."

"The view's good over here. And you're the one who didn't notice me earlier," Hibari glanced over to a corner mostly hidden by in the shadows where he had been sitting. "You're letting your guard down, omnivore."

"Oh, maybe I'm just tired." Tsuna laughed sheepishly and returned to leaning against the railings, but not before pulling slightly on one of Hibari's shirt's sleeves to get him to come down when he realized the man was _sitting _on the thin barrier three storeys above the ground. The skylark rolled his eyes, but complied and now had his back facing the scenery beside the other.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," the younger male turned to the side to meet Hibari's eyes when he heard his name being said. "You still haven't answered my question, why aren't you asleep?"

"Umm, I just couldn't sleep. Too many things happened today, I just can't keep my mind off them," when Hibari didn't reply, Tsuna took it as a cue to continue talking. "I mean, it's not every day you get told you're to become the next boss of the biggest Mafia family in the world by your former tutor while your job is the Chief of police. I can't imagine being a Mafioso, I don't even want to be one."

"Then don't," Hibari answered curtly. "Just get this case over with and go home."

"I don't think Reborn will let me, he seems serious about this whole thing," there really wasn't much he could do about the arrangement. Besides, he'd already struck a deal with Reborn. He'll just have to put up with the situation for a few days, that should be enough for Reborn. Deciding that that was the best option, Tsuna changed to a different subject. "Hey, Hibari-san, would you really stay here if I became Decimo?"

"Hn."

"But I thought you loved Namimori."

"Travelling back and forth isn't a problem."

Tsuna smiled, he couldn't believe Hibari would go to such lengths to stay with the group – though he _did _have his own reasons. "Thank you, Hibari-san."

The skylark didn't say anything in response to that, but did hum an acknowledgement and raised a hand to gently ruffle the brown hair that was already messy from rolling around on the bed. Tsuna blinked blankly, this was the first time Hibari had ever done that. _Still, why is everybody doing this? Is there something wrong with my hair?! _Nonetheless, the smile still remained on his face as the brunet turned back to looking at the scenery.

Then, a far-off building caught Tsuna's eyes. If he remembered right, and he was quite positive that he was, that building would be where the main offices were, and also where he'd bumped into Giotto in the afternoon. One room still had the lights on, and he had a good idea of who was in that room_._ A small smile crossed his lips. _It's way past midnight, Giotto sure is hardworking. Should I go over there to check on him?...No, I'll just get in his way._

Noticing that Tsuna's attention was now elsewhere, Hibari raised an eyebrow and followed the line of vision. From the second scouting of the place prior to going to the garden, which led to his encounter with Tsuna and Giotto, he remembered that inside the building were the offices. Slight irritation bubbled within him, there was only one person in the Vongola who could distract Tsuna like this. _That herbivore. _Hibari's fingers twitched, wanting nothing more than to pull out his tonfas and run on the roof towards that room. It had been twice now that Giotto had, intentionally or not, ruined his moment with Tsuna.

When he had seen Giotto in the garden, Hibari only wanted to fight him for disrupting his enjoyable nap and because he was strong. But, realizing how friendly Tsuna was to the blonde after mere hours, not counting that they were brothers, made him want to bite the herbivore to death even more. Then, Tsuna interrupted them. Hibari's blood boiled as irritation turned into anger, _that _was the last straw. Without thinking, his hands moved to both sides of Tsuna to grip the railings, successfully trapping the smaller male. Hibari smirked when his target jumped slightly and turned around a bit with a light blush on his cheeks from the closeness.

"Hi-Hibari-san?"Tsuna called timidly, confused by the sudden move and change in attitude.

"I've just remembered something interesting," Hibari started and leaned in until he was whispering into one of the ears. "A certain _omnivore _stood in my way earlier," the skylark rejoiced when he felt the other stiffened, from fear or not, he didn't care. "Tell me, why did you do that?"

Tsuna froze, inwardly trying to suppress the shivers running down his spine from the breaths that were blown into his ear as Hibari spoke. He'd forgotten all about the incident, and was hoping the other would as well. But of course, luck was never on his side, the gods must hate him. _What should I do?! Hibari-san looks _really _mad! _The brunet gulped as he tried not to flinch from the predatory look those blue-gray orbs was giving off that made him feel like a cornered prey. Yep, Hibari was _definitely _angry. And an angry Hibari meant a biting to death from hell if he didn't choose his words wisely. "Umm, like I said before, G-Giotto didn't do anything wrong and he isn't a bad person. You didn't need to act so violently."

Apparently, he'd said something wrong because Hibari's glare intensified to a new level and those eyes narrowed further. "Since when have you two turned to first name basis?"

The brunet blinked, how did they get onto to this topic? And why was it important anyway? "Giotto asked me to, he said using honorifics were too formal when we're brothers and all."

Hibari smirked inwardly. That's right, he'd almost forgotten about that. They were brothers, that made things a little easier. But somehow, he doubted Giotto would stop just because they were half related. The blonde was definitely interested in Tsuna, he just didn't know it yet. "Hn. And, judging from how you interacted with the herbivore in the garden, something happened between you and him before that." Hibari made the assumption because he could tell Tsuna had gotten over the fact that Giotto was a Mafia boss and was actually talking normally to him.

Tsuna was completely confused by now, it felt like he was being interrogated about his relationship with Giotto for no apparent reason. Also, he fidgeted in his spot, the close proximity between him and Hibari was getting a little…odd. Not in a bad way though, just odd.

"I'm waiting, omnivore." The skylark reminded impatiently, breaking his train of thoughts. And Tsuna could've sworn Hibari just moved even closer, practically pressing him flat against the railings.

"Oh, err, yeah. Before I met you in there, I was out exploring the castle and got lost. I bumped into Giotto soon after and he showed me around. Then, we parted at the garden and you know the rest."

"Hn. So he helped you, is that why you said he wasn't bad?"

"Well, yes, he didn't have to do that, but he did. Plus, from talking to him before, Giotto seemed like a really nice older brother and boss."

Hibari growled when he saw Tsuna's eyes shone with admiration and the small smile on the brunet's lips, making the latter flinch at the sound. If he heard Tsuna talk anymore about Giotto, he was sure he would snap and do something he would regret later. But, he was in a bad mood and wasn't going to leave just like this without at least a few last words. Making sure that Tsuna's eyes were meeting his directly, Hibari spoke each word clearly, "Don't get any closer to that guy."

"H-huh?"

"You seem to have forgotten where we are, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"What are you talking about, Hibari-san?"

"We're here for an investigation and until there is more evidence, _everyone_ is a suspect and _anyone _could be the killer. That herbivore is no exception," the shocked look on Tsuna's face, those widened honey-colored orbs upon the revelation almost made Hibari feel bad that he was the one breaking the news, but it was the truth. "For all we know, all of these gentlemanly and courteous demeanors can be just an act. I wonder, would he still act like that once he finds out about your identity?"

Tsuna was frozen in place, barely noticing Hibari freeing him at last to turn on his heels and jump onto the roof, heading back to his room.

* * *

**A/N: *Looks around and laughs awkwardly* so **_**this **_**is favoritism, I couldn't resist writing another 1827 scene. So, hopefully this chapter explained some questions. Now, I'll probably not going to update until Christmas or New Year since I'm developing a minor case of writer's block and I also have to work on a fic for Mockingjay Rose's Secret Santa event. I hope I won't disappoint the person I'm giving the fic to… **

**Review Replies:**

**Butterfree: Thank you for reviewing! I'm still in shock that you went through and reviewed every single chapter as you read. But thank you! And also for the nice comments, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :) And I'm sorry if you're confused, as for why they're in Italy, it's to investigate the murders since the Vongola crest USB is the only clue they have. **

**Artermis Kuromuro: Thank you for the review! Yes, it is an interesting situation. And of course you can vote! I should try sneaking in a few G27 moments here and there like I do with 1827. XD**

**Hayate The Soul Reaper: Thanks for another review! ^^ Why would I be annoyed? Long reviews are awesome! Haha, I'm a massive Yaoi fan. I've read so many fics and probably all yaoi pairing with Tsuna in them. XD Lol, yes, as you can see from above, I couldn't help but put in some 1827. I should just go and write an 1827 sometimes. ^^ And I'm happy that you liked the chapter, thanks again!**

**BrokenBlackCat: Thanks for reviewing, and I know that feeling. I can't choose either. XD Good luck making up your mind!**

**Neolazer: Thanks for the review and liking the story! Haha, yet another 1827 and G27 fan. :D**

**Final Syai Lunar Generation: Thank you for reviewing! Aww, I wanted to see that review! D: I hate technical difficulties! But yes, Tsuna is too adorable. ^^ I will try my best!**

**Silent-Insaneminako: Thanks for the review! The G27 scenes were cute, so is little Tsuna. :D Haha, hope this chapter didn't disappoint. :) **

**Animebaka14: Thank you for the review! Lol, that is one of the best answers ever. Hmm, Tsuna doesn't have to kill him, not that I can do something like that to Giotto…I think. **

**Little Miss Scarlett: Thank you for reviewing! Aww, I'm honored! :) And there's the update. :D Lastly, oops…plot hole. Awkward! Well, I suppose Iemitsu had an affair while he was still married but not together with Giotto's mother. Tsuna was born around that time, and after he was divorced, Iemitsu was still busy with work and didn't had the time to marry Nana until a year later or so. :)**

**And done! I'll see you guys in *checks calendar* around 3 weeks! Until then, leave a few words, ne? *puppy-dog eyes* **


	6. Chapter 6

***nervously peeks out from a corner* H-hey there! Sorry about the delay, but I got much busier this holidays than I expected. Stupid parties…But yeah, finally, here's chapter 6: **

**Disclaimer: No KHR for Christmas present, damn…**

**Chapter 6**

Since his conversation with Hibari, Tsuna barely got a wink of sleep. He woke up early the next morning around 6, only about 3 to 4 hours after the talk, and felt – for lack of better word – like crap. Dark circles could be seen clearly under his eyes and his head was spinning from lack of sleep. Since being stuck in his room and rolling around on the bed wouldn't help, Tsuna was now walking aimlessly around the castle, trying to clear his head.

When he had finally gotten over the Decimo ordeal, Hibari _just _had to bring up the case. _But…he did have a point. _Because of how little evidence they had, it was impossible to narrow down the suspects. All they knew was the victims were related to the Mafia, that USB could've belonged to the killer _or _the victim since there were no fingerprints.

With such a high number of suspects, ranging from all the Mafiosi of the Vongola to the entire Mafia world, the case was going nowhere. All Tsuna could do now was be extra careful not to blow their cover. _But…I just can't see Giotto as a bad person who would kill so many people, especially a civilian who had nothing to do with the Mafia. And last night, it didn't look like he was faking at all…_But then again, maybe he was too trusting of people. Giotto and all of the Guardians that he had met, even G despite his colorful language or the cold and aloof Alaude, didn't seem like potential serial killers.

"_I wonder, would he still act like that once he finds out about your identity?"_

Tsuna paused, Hibari's words replaying in his mind. His father and half-brother were both important figures in the Mafia world, and he was the Chief of police, the odd one out. Would they think of him as a traitor? Would they try to distance themselves away from him as far as possible to not mingle with law enforcers? _That's right, if Giotto found out I'm here for an undercover mission, he'll definitely be mad, thinking that I was trying to dig up dirt on the Vongola Famiglia. He'll hate me for sure. _The thought of Giotto hating him made his heart give a painful squeeze. He didn't want to lose his older brother, a family member, so soon after their reunion.

_I guess all I can do now is to keep a distance from Giotto, like Hibari-san said, and hope he'll never figure out my mission here. _Tsuna did feel bad for suspecting his own brother, but he had no choice, not until there was prove he was innocent anyway. Having made a decision, the brunet sighed heavily and turned around to head back to his room.

At an intersection of four corridors, Tsuna heard footsteps and spotted a silhouette quite far from where he was walking down a different path to his. Upon squinting, with some help from the sunlight from the windows, he could make out that it was a man and the hair spiked to resemble a particular fruit at the back was a dead giveaway of who the person was. _What's Mukuro doing out here?...At least he isn't sneaking into my room again this morning. _Tsuna sighed at the thought, Mukuro liked to do that every chance he got.

"Mukuro, why are you up so early?" The brunet called out as he changed direction to walk towards the other, curiosity getting the better of him.

Hearing the question, the blue-haired man up ahead stopped on his track and turned around with mild surprise and interest. "Oya, what have we here? A little lost lamb?"

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, that voice didn't sound like Mukuro's. With a few more steps, he was close enough to get a perfect view and realized he'd made a mistake. It wasn't Mukuro, but the two did have some striking similarities in appearance. They had the same pineapple hairstyle, but this man had two zigzag parting lines – reminding Tsuna more of a melon – and the hair was shorter without the long ponytail and in a lighter shade of blue, same for the eyes – which were both the same color, not heterochromatic. "O-oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Nufufufu, it's perfectly alright, though I wasn't aware there was someone who looks like me around here. Speaking of which, I haven't seen you around before," blue eyes narrowed slightly, and Tsuna sensed some hostility radiating from the taller male's icy stare. "This isn't a place that welcomes intruders." The man held out a hand and held a deadly-looking scythe that materialized out of thin air. Tsuna noticed that a Vongola ring similar to G's was worn on the middle finger, but a large dark blue crystal instead of fiery red. _He must be the Mist Guardian._

Immediately sensing that he was in danger as the scythe was moved, the brunet took a step back and had both of his hands in the air. "Hang on, I-I'm not an i-intruder! I'm here with Reborn and, umm, I'm…Giotto's…half-brother." It felt strange to introduce himself as such, but if the other was a Vongola Guardian, he would find out sooner or later, and sooner meant that Tsuna wouldn't be killed.

The scythe halted midair and the Mist Guardian's blue eyes watched him closely, as if trying to determine if he was lying or not. Finally, after a few seconds, the scythe disappeared and the blue-haired man moved back to stand casually. "Oya? I didn't know Giotto had a brother, but you do look a bit like him. I can always check with him later, you won't be able to escape anyway," an empty, gloved hand was held out towards the shorter male. "So, I believe introductions are way overdue. Daemon Spade, pleasure to meet you."

Tsuna shook the offered hand, relieved that yet another danger had been averted. "I'm T-Tsunayoshi Sawada, you can call me Tsuna for short, and nice to meet you, too."

"Japanese, huh? Hmm, Giotto is half-Japanese, that makes sense. Well, my apologies for startling you earlier."

"It's fine, you were only doing your job."

"Nufufufu, I'm glad you understand. Now, I have a report to write and submit to Giotto, so I'm afraid I must take my leave. See you around, Tsunayoshi." Not waiting for an answer, Daemon resumed walking and soon disappeared from view.

Since there wasn't anything left to do and he'd been gone for a while, Tsuna decided to continue his way back to his room. _Oh, this means I've met all of the Vongola Guardians. _He noted idly. Unlike the rest, the Mist Guardian seemed to be more dangerous, if their encounter just now didn't show that already. There was a mysterious and eerie aura around the blue-haired man, and Tsuna felt chills running down his spine from the creepy laugh and the cold gaze. _Huh, that reminds me of my first impression of Mukuro. _But now, Mukuro turned out to be a pretty nice person when you were on his good side…maybe a little perverted, but relatively harmless.

* * *

Entering the passageway with all the guestrooms, Tsuna could see all of his friends – minus Yamamoto and Reborn - standing outside in a group, probably waiting for him before going to breakfast. They were acting just like their normal selves, and that meant Gokudera was on the edge of a nervous breakdown from his boss's disappearance…again.

"Good morning, guys." The brunet greeted with a small smile, gaining their attention and his right-hand man came running to stand beside him.

"Juudaime, where were you? Please stop going off by yourself around here, it's dangerous."

"Sorry for making you worry, Gokudera-kun. I woke up too early so I decided to go for a walk, that's all."

"Kufufufu, I believe you owe me an apology as well, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro's voice cut in as the man appeared behind Tsuna, one hand was placed onto the small shoulder as he leaned in to continue whispering. "You gave me quite a shock when I found your bed unoccupied."

_I knew it. _Tsuna sighed. After so many years, he'd gotten somewhat used to Mukuro's perverted ways. As long as the man didn't touch anywhere inappropriate, he didn't mind too much. On the other hand, his right-hand man didn't seem to be taking it that well.

Gokudera gaped, mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Y-y-you fucking bastard! You snuck into Juudaime's room, _again_?! That's it, I'm gonna fucking kill you once and for all!" The extremely enraged silveret reached into his pockets and pulled out as many dynamites as his hands could get to.

"Rokudo Mukuro, for doing such indecent things, I will bite you to death." Hibari joined in, always eager for a good fight.

_Didn't you do the exact same thing last night, Hibari-san? _Another sigh escaped Tsuna's lips, it was still _way _too early in the morning for this sort of thing. He expected Mukuro to jump away and prepare for combat, but on the contrary, the taller male held him even closer, probably planning to use Tsuna as a human shield. "Oya, I barely saw Tsunayoshi-kun yesterday. Is it wrong for me to want to see him earlier today?"

"When you're invading his privacy with ill intentions, yes!" Gokudera snapped back, a cigarette in his mouth to light the dynamites. "Now get away from Juudaime so I can kill you!"

"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing with those dynamites?! Put them down! And no smoking indoors!" G yelled loudly, he'd just entered the corridor with Giotto, only to see one of their guests about to blow the place up.

"What's with all the ruckus?" Giotto questioned, more calmly and authoritative. From his point of view, it looked like a fight was starting between Gokudera, Hibari and Mukuro. The latter seemed to be holding his brother captive, preventing the other two from attacking.

"That pineapple bastard invaded Juudaime's privacy, I'm just doing the world a favor by getting rid of a pervert!" Gokudera answered with his eyes still glaring daggers at Mukuro.

Giotto frowned in distaste. One of Tsuna's guardians was an arrogant jerk who was obsessed with fighting – and also had an interest in the brunet – and another was a pervert? He seriously needed to have a talk with Reborn about his choices. Although, his own guardians weren't exactly normal either.

"If you're gonna fight, go do it outside! I swear to God I will shoot every single one of you fucking brats if you damage this place!" The redhead beside Giotto threatened, he really did _not _want to file anymore papers for repair than there were already.

Hearing the threat, Tsuna immediately set out to stop the fight before it would get any bigger. "G-guys, calm down. That's enough, we're guests here, we shouldn't be causing so much trouble for them. So stop this, OK?"

"I-if Juudaime says so," Gokudera mumbled and reluctantly put away his weapons, but still gave Mukuro death glares. "You'll pay for this later, bastard."

Giotto watched with mild surprise as Hibari also withdrew to the side and Mukuro loosen his hold enough for Tsuna to wiggle his way out, at least they still listened to their boss…sometimes. Said brunet let a small sigh escaped his lips, the day had barely begun and he was already drained. Tsuna moved to Giotto and G to bow rapidly in apology – something told him he would be doing this a lot more in the future. "I'm sorry about all of this Giotto, G-san!"

G smiled and gently patted the smaller male on the head, it was nice to see someone with good manners around for a change. "It's fine, kid, we're used to it. But seriously, any fighting had better be done outside. Come on, let's go to breakfast." G turned and started walking away from the group, motioning Giotto to come with him. A smile crossed the blonde's lips, he had a feeling his best friend and little brother would get along just fine.

Before Tsuna and his friends could follow the two, the door to Yamamoto's room opened and the dark-haired man stepped out, hair still damp from the shower he'd just taken after a morning jog. Yamamoto blinked dumbly when he noticed the still present tension between the others and the tired look on Tsuna's face. "Did I miss something?" He asked with a wide grin and arms crossed behind his neck.

Tsuna sighed, how nice it would be to be carefree like Yamamoto. "Don't ask, just don't ask."

* * *

The group arrived at the same dining room as last night, and saw that Reborn was already there with an espresso in hand and a newspaper laid out before him. The hitman greeted them all with a single "chaos" and resumed drinking. Eventually, the rest of Giotto's guardians joined them and the maids began bringing their breakfasts in as well.

"Oh, Daemon, you're back," Giotto said, noticing the addition. "How was the mission? It isn't like you to be delayed by something."

Daemon looked up to answer after he'd taken a bite out of the buttered toast. "The mission was just fine, there wasn't any trouble. All flights were grounded because of a storm in France last night, that's something I have no control over. And the report is already on your desk."

"I'll have a look at it after this, thanks," Giotto nodded and glanced over to Tsuna's group. "As you can see, we have guests. These are Reborn's acquaintances from Japan and friends of my half-brother."

The blonde began introducing Daemon to them, but when he got to Tsuna, the latter interrupted. "We've met earlier when I found him wandering in the corridors. Nice to meet all of you, by the way." Daemon replied with a polite smile. Tsuna was relieved that he didn't mention attacking him. He wasn't sure how Giotto would react to that, but his friends would surely have something to say.

"Really? That's very early in the morning, Tsunayoshi, did you have trouble sleeping?" Giotto asked, looking at his younger brother with concern.

The brunet flinched slightly, he wasn't expecting being talked to and pretended to be focusing on moving the remnants of his food around on the plate to avoid eye-contact. "Umm, y-yeah, something like that."

Sensing some anxiety from Tsuna, Giotto frowned and was about to voice another question, but Reborn spoke to him first. "Oh Giotto, I forgot to mention. The Varia's here."

"Wha-"

"VOIIIIIIII!" An extremely loud voice yelled and the room's doors were pushed open with enough force to almost rip them from their hinges. "JUST HOW MUCH LONGER DO YOU INTEND TO KEEP US WAITING, YOU FUCKING BRAT?!"

Most of the room's occupants covered their ears a moment too late. Tsuna was the one who took the most damage, being the closest to the door. He was pretty sure his hearing went down by a few decibels at least. Seriously, that man must have been louder than Ryohei, and that was saying something! Unaware of their ringing ears, or maybe he just decided not to care, the man with long white hair moved to stand beside Giotto, waiting for an answer.

"Squalo, I wasn't even aware that you and the Varia were here so I went to have breakfast with everyone." Giotto replied, also quietly wincing for his ears.

"VOIIIIII!" Squalo screamed again and headed over to Reborn, even more groans from the others. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL HIM?!"

Reborn shrugged and continued drinking coffee normally, as if he was immune to the loudness – probably because he was the only one who knew and had prepared earplugs. "I forgot."

The white-haired man twitched and growled, but didn't want to argue any further with Reborn. "BLOND BRAT, YOU'D BETTER BE THERE IN 5 MINUTES! THE SHITTY BOSS IS ALREADY THROWING A FIT AND I AIN'T PAYING FOR THOSE BROKEN BOTTLES AND GLASSES!" After that, Squalo left the room, much to everyone's relief.

"W-who _was _that?" Tsuna asked to no one in particular, it seemed like he was meeting new people every day.

"Superbi Squalo, the Vice Captain of Vongola's elite assassination squad, the Varia," Giotto answered and the words "assassination squad" immediately caught the attention of the Namimori policemen. Just their occupation alone was enough to earn the Varia a spot near the top on the list of suspects. "Well, I should go, keeping Xanxus waiting is never a good idea. See you around, everyone."

As Giotto left the room, Reborn eyed Tsuna and the latter understood what he wanted, but was reluctant to do as told. With Hibari's words still fresh in his mind, he didn't want to be anywhere near Giotto at the moment. But, not listening to his ex-tutor wasn't something you should do if you still wanted to live. Hence, Tsuna dragged himself out of his seat to run after his half-brother, mumbling some goodbyes to his friends and the guardians.

* * *

Hearing small footsteps from behind, Giotto stopped and turned around, surprised to see Tsuna jogging to catch up to him. "Tsunayoshi? Did you need something?"

"Umm, no…Reborn wanted me to stay with you and see what you do as Decimo. I-is that o-okay with you?" The brunet asked timidly, looking down at his shoes like they were the most fascinating things in the world.

Giotto was confused, why was Tsuna suddenly anxious and reserved around him again? He wasn't like that after their talks. Maybe he was nervous about meeting the Varia. Putting that aside, he couldn't help but be a little disheartened that his brother was only willing to spend time with him because a certain hitman told him (probably by blackmail) to. Still, he put on a small smile and ruffled the shorter male's hair. "Of course it's OK. I'll be more than happy to have you around. Oh, is this because Reborn told you about the Decimo thing?"

"Err, yes…"

"You're probably still uncomfortable with the word 'Mafia', right? But it actually isn't that bad, you'll see…Well, probably not with the next group you're about to meet."

Tsuna gulped, Giotto really _was _good at reading people. They barely knew each other and he could already guess his feelings. At this rate, it wouldn't be long until he finds out their mission. Since the other was waiting for him to say something, Tsuna hesitantly continued the conversation by asking, "A-are they _that_ dangerous?"

"Sort of, they're a little…eccentric, so you might want to stick close to me."

Tsuna sighed, that was the _opposite _of what he had planned to do. Still, he moved to stand behind the blonde when he pushed open the mahogany doors of a room. That was proven to be a wise decision. As soon as the doors had parted, a glass of red wine flew straight at them. Tsuna ducked down while Giotto used his cloak to cover both of them, successfully not getting a drop of liquid on him. Giotto took off the ruined black cloak and handed it over to a maid nearby indifferently, as if it was a normal occurrence – and most likely was. After that, he made his way over to the armchairs and sofas where a group of men were, easily avoiding all the pieces of broken glass on the ground. Tsuna trailed silently after his brother and eventually took a seat next to him.

"You're late, fucking trash," a man with dark hair and nasty-looking scars on his face growled, Tsuna almost shrieked aloud when those fierce crimson eyes glared at him and Giotto. "Who the fuck is that?"

"This is Tsunayoshi, my half-brother," Giotto replied, then turned to the brunet. "This is Xanxus, Nono's son and leader of the Varia. Squalo you've already met, the rest are Lussuria, Levi, Belphegor and Fran." The Decimo motioned at a person for each name.

"N-nice to meet y-you all." Tsuna stuttered and fidgeted uncomfortably when all eyes stared at him. It was even worse when Xanxus's glare seemed to have intensified.

"Aww, Boss, you're scaring him!" a voice scolded and a flamboyant man with a colorful Mohawk, whose name Giotto had said to be Lussuria, walked over put an arm around Tsuna's shoulders reassuringly. "Don't worry, cutie, we won't hurt you."

"Peasant, don't put words into the Prince's mouth." Belphegor, the blonde with a tiara on top of his unruly hair, said and threw a small knife at the two in warning. Luckily, the weapon missed and ended up on the wall behind, but that seemed to have been done on purpose.

"Bel-senpai, stop trying to be a prince when you're not." A green-haired male beside Belphegor stated with a monotonous voice, and received three knives into his giant frog-shaped hat that was already filled with holes.

"Ushishishi, I _am _a prince. So shut up, Froggy."

"VOIIIII! YOU SHOULD SHUP UP, TOO! AND LUSSURIA, GET BACK TO YOUR SEAT!" Squalo yelled, his words echoing around the room to make matters worse.

As the members of the Varia began talking/arguing among themselves, Tsuna was sweating buckets while Giotto just sighed impatiently, rubbing a temple of his head in an attempt to lessen the developing headache. It didn't help the matter much when the group started throwing things at each other like children. Finally, Xanxus seemed to have had enough as well and threw another wine bottle to the ground. The males heard the sound and all turned silent, much to the two brothers' relief.

"So, why are you all here?" Giotto asked when he was sure everyone was listening.

Xanxus gave the Decimo a death glare as he replied, "The missions you gave weren't even worth our fucking time."

"And you came here just to say that?"

"VOIIIII! YOU'RE GIVING US THESE SHITTY MISSIONS BECAUSE YOU UNDERESTIMATE THE VARIA, AREN'T YOU?!" Squalo cut in, pointing a sword attached to his arm at Giotto and Tsuna shrieked.

The blonde, however, looked unfazed and used a hand to move the blade away from him. "No, I'm well aware of your high standards and capability. But you were the ones sending in complaints about having nothing to do and those were the only missions available."

Xanxus didn't respond, just clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned away to grab another glass filled with wine. "Trashy shark, hand in the reports and get me my breakfast."

Squalo scowled at the sudden change of subject and the command. "GET IT YOURSELF, I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING MAID!" The swordsman snapped, but did give/throw a stack of paper to Giotto.

The blonde accepted the papers with a word of thanks before looking over all the members of the Varia. "I take it that we're done here, I'll be getting back to work then. Feel free to stay for as long as you like." Giotto stood up from his seat and headed for the door, Tsuna immediately trailed after him.

Once outside, away from the deafening noise, Giotto sighed tiredly. "I still don't get why every one of them had to come," he turned to Tsuna, who was deathly pale and still recovering from the fright. "They must have been a bit scary, huh?"

"Umm, y-yeah, they're…odd."

At that comment, Giotto chuckled. "Most people around here are, to an extent."

After that, the two made their way to the Decimo's office since he really did need to start on his work for the day. They walked in silence, Tsuna was mostly distracted by the thoughts in his head. The Varia, they were Vongola's assassination squad, their missions would be self-explanatory. And _Giotto, _was the person assigning the missions to them. Meaning he was the one giving out orders for assassinations. Tsuna felt chills run down his spine, looks like the Mafia-side to his half-brother was much less pleasant than he'd expected.

* * *

**A/N: And there goes another chapter. Again, sorry I took so long. T_T And one more thing, the main pairing will be decided after this chapter and so far, we have Hibari on 8 and Giotto on 12. Your last chance to vote! :D**

**Review Replies: **

**Butterfree: Thanks for the reviews! It is a lot all at once! :D But hey, I'm not complaining. XD Hahaha, thanks. I'd like to see how this would turn out as well. OTL**

**StardustDreams: Nope, like I said above. :) Haha, I'm the same, I like both pairings and I really liked the 1827 of the last chapter. ^^ Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

**XSkyeStarlX : Glad you liked the G27. ^^ Aww, I wanna know the reason! Thanks for the review! :D **

**Final Syai Lunar Generation: Aw, it happened again?! That's a shame. D: I hope things are better now. Thanks for the good comments and the review! :D**

**Thanks everyone, for the alerts, favorites and reviews! :D And Happy New Year, everybody! **

**Ciao!**


	7. Chapter 7

***laughs nervously* Hahaha, holiday, homework, going back to school, more homework and a slightly lazy author by nature with a writer's block equals to very slow updates. I'm sorry. OTL Well, I won't keep you waiting any longer, anything else can be said at the end. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own even a fraction of KHR.**

Chapter 7

As the two brothers arrived at the Decimo's office after their meeting with the notorious Varia, Tsuna – still keeping a distance from Giotto – blinked in surprise when he saw someone waiting for them. "Hibari-san? What are you doing here?" The brunet asked, stepping closer to the person in question, grateful for any form of distraction to keep him from his doubts about Giotto.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Hibari replied, moving away from the wall he was previously leaning against and stood beside Tsuna.

"Um…" he didn't know if he should reply to a rhetorical question or not, and decided not to. "But shouldn't you be with the Cloud Guardian?"

"He's not here."

Giotto, who remained silent at the side for the two to talk, raised an eyebrow at that. And then he remembered why his Cloud Guardian wasn't around. "Ah, that's right. Alaude must have left for another mission before he was notified about Reborn's arrangements," _or maybe he just didn't care. _Giotto added silently. "He never stays around here for long periods of time. But the mission shouldn't take long, I'll tell him to stay when he gets back."

"Oh, t-thanks…" Tsuna mumbled in response. But then again, maybe Hibari and Alaude not meeting yet was a good thing – appearance wasn't the only thing they seemed to have in common. Not that Hibari got along well with many people to begin with.

"By the way," the Decimo started and looked at the skylark. "Instead of waiting out here, you could've joined us in the meeting. The Varia wouldn't have minded…too much." He didn't actually want Hibari to be there, but it was only courteous to offer. The last thing he needed was Hibari picking fights with the Varia which would guarantee utter chaos.

The skylark glanced over to him with narrowed eyes, barely acknowledging his presence for the first time since the conversation started. "I despise crowds, and that obnoxiously loud white-haired herbivore." Hibari answered curtly.

Tsuna shivered a little, imagining what would happen if Hibari and Squalo were in the same room…it was not a very pretty image. Watching the two males before him, Tsuna had an idea that he immediately set off to follow. "Um, G-Giotto, since A-Alaude-san isn't here, c-can Hibari-san join us for the day?" He asked, trying to keep eye-contact and make his voice sound as normal as possible, and failed miserably. Though he had a feeling Hibari was planning the exact same thing anyway, why else would he had been there waiting for them in the first place?

Giotto cast a confused glance over to his brother, was it just him or did Tsuna seemed nervous or more distant than yesterday, _especially_ towards him? The blonde shrugged, to both Tsuna's question and his own assumption, thinking that it was just his imagination – or at least he hoped it was. "I don't see why not, it's up to him." He didn't really see any harm in it, and now that Tsuna had already asked, he had no reason to refuse him.

The two turned to Hibari for his reply and took it as a yes when the latter didn't answer and only looked at the doors in front of them impatiently. Giotto nodded and they entered the office. As soon as the trio had stepped inside and the doors had closed behind them, there seemed to have been tension in the air and an awkward silence ensued. They all ignored the heavy atmosphere, or tried to, and got on with work like normal.

While Giotto sat at his desk to get started on his work, Tsuna settled down beside Hibari on one of the sofas at the center of the room. The only words spoken after that was when the blonde explained what documents he had to look through right now and handed the stacks of paper he had yet to get to over to Tsuna to sort out. And then, more silence. To distract himself from all the tension, Tsuna focused on reading through the papers and then putting them into separate piles like Giotto wanted. Hibari soon joined in to help him since there wasn't anything else to do.

The documents had nothing out of the norm. They were mainly just about daily reports, damage bills, invitations to parties from other Famiglie, notifications of meetings, more bills, etc. But then again, the Varia's report wasn't there - Giotto probably had read it first since he was carrying it while entering the room – and neither were the reports from the guardians' missions. After another 30 minutes or so, all of the sorting out was done and there wasn't anything left to do. Tsuna ended up reading through some books on the history of the Vongola. _This is so awkward. _The brunet thought for the nth time and silently cursed Reborn once more for making him do this. At least Hibari was there with him, or things would probably have been even worse. Speaking of Hibari, the skylark had his eyes shut and seemed to be sleeping, but there was no way he could tell if that was true or not.

Finally, things changed for the better and some lifesavers came, in the forms of G and Gokudera. The redhead had come in to inform his boss that their first, well, second if the Varia was counted, meeting was starting in ten minutes. Giotto nodded an acknowledgment, reached for his cloak and prepared to head out. "Tsunayoshi, you're coming?" He asked as he stopped by the sofa.

"Um, I'm kind of tired, c-can I not?" Tsuna answered while stacking all the books he had read.

"…sure, what Reborn doesn't know won't hurt him…or you."

The brunet chuckled weakly at the joke, it was very true though. "T-thanks and sorry…"

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Let's go, G." The redhead muttered a reply and they made their way out.

As the door was closed behind them, the Giotto and G started walking away. After a few steps, the Decimo let out a low sigh and turned to his best friend. "Don't you think Tsunayoshi is acting weird around me?"

G raised an eyebrow before snorting, red eyes not leaving the papers he was reading. "How the hell would I know? I barely talked to him."

"…good point."

"Look, it's probably nothing. Maybe the brat's just shy, homesick or whatever. Just ask him yourself later and right now, focus on the meeting."

"Right, thanks for the advice."

* * *

Gokudera, who was supposed to go as well since he was following G, hesitated, wanting to check on his boss. "Juudaime, are you okay? Do you need me to stay with you?" He asked with a concerned frown. Tsuna didn't look particularly unwell or anything, but one can never be too sure.

"I'm fine, really. You should go, so you can tell me what I've missed later." Tsuna answered with a smile to reassure his right-hand man. And it seemed like a good idea, what if Reborn randomly asked just to test him?

The silveret took the suggestion to heart, eager to be helpful to his boss. "Of course, I'll do my best!" Gokudera grinned while saluting before running out of the room to catch up to Giotto and G.

And then silence returned again, but at least it wasn't as awkward this time. Tsuna slumped back against the cushion with a sigh. Looking to his right, he could see Hibari still sitting motionlessly with his eyes closed and arms crossed, most likely asleep. But he was proven wrong when a question was asked, "What is it now?"

Tsuna blinked, quite surprised by the question and that Hibari was awake the entire time. "Eh?"

"You're even more awkward than usual, something happened. Talk."

The brunet was surprised again, did Hibari just offer to listen to whatever was bothering him? Tsuna smiled, the other wasn't much of a talker, but he definitely could listen when he wanted to. "It's about…Giotto…" He answered quietly.

Hibari scoffed. "So I've noticed."

"The Varia, they're assassins. They get missions and assignments from him. That means he decides who the vic…target is."

The skylark resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "And you're surprised by that? He's the boss, it's common sense."

"But…he just doesn't seem to be someone who would commit crimes on a daily basis."

Hibari felt a nerve twitched, not this again. "He's with the Mafia, you know what the Mafia does."

Tsuna looked down to his hands on his lap wearily, this talk wasn't making him feel any better. And then he suddenly jolted backing up as an idea appeared. He looked around cautiously before standing up and moving to Giotto's desk. If there was a perfect time to look for any suspicious documents, now would be it. But his efforts proved to be futile, all the important paperwork that Giotto had received for the time being had been sorted out and secured in a locked compartment. Since that idea obviously didn't work out, he could only sigh dejectedly and returned to his seat. "I just…don't want it to be him. I don't want to lose a family member so soon…and over something like this as well." Tsuna mumbled sadly, absentmindedly fiddling with the end of the black tie that was peeking out from underneath the blazer.

Watching the other from the corner of his eyes, Hibari couldn't help but feel some guilt. Sure he wanted Tsuna to become wary of Giotto, but he definitely had not meant for him to be depressed like that also – even if it did sort of work in his favor. And it seemed like he only thought of Giotto as a brother anyway. Hibari let out an almost inaudible sigh, and began his attempt to cheer Tsuna up at least a little.

"H-Hibari-san?" Tsuna called curiously when a hand was placed onto the top of his head to nudge him until he was leaning against said male's shoulder.

"You're overreacting."

"H-huh?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the optimist? Then look on the bright side."

Tsuna didn't answer, remaining silent as he contemplated on what Hibari meant. The latter rolled his eyes impatiently, looks like he'd have to spell everything out again. "That herbivore might be the most suspicious right now," cue a grimace from the brunet, "but he isn't the only suspect. We just got here, deciding to only focus on him at the moment would be jumping to conclusions."

That seemed to have had a positive effect, he could feel Tsuna moving his head in a small nod of agreement. That's right, there were so many others that they had not checked on. People like the Varia, the guardians, other subordinates, etc. Any of them could've committed the crime without the boss's knowledge. Not to mention there were other Famiglie to consider.

"Start acting like your normal self, the last thing you want to do is attract unneeded suspicion. Don't get too close either, if you accidentally slip even a single word about our mission or anything else, I _will _bite you to death."

Tsuna almost wanted to laugh at the last words, he definitely wouldn't put it pass Hibari to do just that. He gave another nod to the advices before looking up to face the skylark and smiled. "Thank you, Hibari-san."

"…Hn…" Hibari replied and turned away, returning to his usual cold self. Steel blue eyes softened a little when he saw the smile, it suited Tsuna much more than that dull expression earlier (and it was his fault that that look was there in the first place). Then, the hand that was still buried inside the unruly, yet soft, brown hair began to ruffle it, making an even bigger mess.

Tsuna unconsciously leaned into the touch, feeling some drowsiness also; the lack of sleep from last night and the tiring events of the morning finally catching up on him. He couldn't help but wonder about Hibari's actions, the man was contradicting himself. Just the night before, the raven was blatantly pointing at Giotto to be the one they were looking for, and now he insisted that they should forget about him for a moment and consider other possibilities, too. _Was it because he saw that I was worrying too much about Giotto being involved? _

Tsuna blinked tiredly, did Hibari actually care enough to do that? He then shrugged off the idea, it couldn't be. The skylark was just bluntly stating the facts for the sake of the investigation like he'd always did, and he was obviously annoyed (probably an understatement) at Giotto last night so he was just clearing that up as well. If Hibari really did it to, dare he say it, cheer him up, then either hell would be frozen over or pigs would be flying tomorrow. That was the last thought to cross his mind before he dozed off.

* * *

A few hours later, well into the afternoon, Tsuna woke up after a few more rolls on the bed. _Wait, bed? _Honey brown eyes opened slowly and their owner looked around dazed and confusedly. _Wasn't I in Giotto's office before? _Pushing the covers off, he moved to a sitting position and checked the time on the watch that was still on his wrist. As the sleepiness finally wore off, Tsuna's eyes widened and he gawked. He'd slept for nearly four hours! And why was he back in his room again? The last thing he remembered was talking to Hibari and then darkness.

Tsuna scanned his surrounding, then blushed from embarrassment and groaned, someone (most likely Hibari) had to carry him back here. His blush darkened further when his stomach decided to grumble loudly, reminding him that he'd last eaten at breakfast hours ago and had skipped lunch as well. Predictably, the brunet got off the bed, put on his shoes while straightening out the creases on his clothing before leaving the room and headed for the kitchen.

Once there, Tsuna felt very bad as he watched the cooks moving around the place to prepare food just for him, even though they insisted that it was no trouble at all. Noticing the guest's discomfort, the head chef kindly handed him a cup of steaming hot latte and told him to wait in the dining room. Thinking that he must have been in the way, Tsuna immediately did as told.

As he was a magnet to trouble (Reborn had told him that many times), something went wrong right after he'd barely walked a few steps. Apparently, thinking about random things while looking down at a cup of coffee and rounding a corner when you were a very clumsy person wasn't one of the wisest things to do. The result: he bumped hard into someone who was also turning from the opposite direction. Tsuna stumbled back a bit from the force, hissing in pain as some of the brown liquid spilled over the edge and onto his hand, but at least none of it got onto the other person, who he noticed from the impact to be a very tall male. "I-I'm s-so sorry! Are you okay?" Tsuna said quickly while looking up (he didn't even stand up to the man's shoulder) to make eye-contact…and wished he hadn't. Fierce crimson eyes on a scarred face gave him a terrifying glare and Tsuna felt the color drained from his own face in response.

"You again, fucking scum?" Xanxus growled while glowering down at the brunet who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

If looks could kill, well, Xanxus wouldn't even need the two guns he carried with him. Tsuna gulped and took a step back, now he was extremely glad that none of the coffee had spilled on the raven. "I-I'm very sorry!" He repeated again.

The glare didn't ease up one bit and Tsuna stood frozen in place, too scared to even think of running. "Just seeing you pisses me off." The older male said and it seemed as if those fingers were moving closer to the guns, making the temperature drop several degrees.

"Um…" Tsuna backed away a few more steps, seriously wondering what he could've possibly done to be hated so much, he barely said anything during their meeting! It couldn't be just because he bumped into him, could it?

"Xanxus, stop threatening him." A third voice interjected, making the two turn around to see who it was.

Giotto stepped out from another corridor nearby, and Tsuna couldn't have been happier to see him. However, Xanxus looked to have been further angered at the sight of the two brothers in one place. "Don't fucking order me around, scum."

When the glare was turned to him, the blonde was not intimidated, quite used to it by now. "I'm not, but I'd appreciate it if you stop scaring my brother. And I believe Squalo is looking for you." A distinctive yell of 'Voiiii' was distantly heard soon after and Giotto gave the man an 'I told you so' look.

Xanxus continued glowering at them for another minute or so before growling in irritation and walked away in the opposite direction to the one Squalo's voice was heard from, he didn't want to deal with that guy right now and get another headache from the constant yelling of that loud, annoying voice.

Watching the other disappearing into a hallway, Tsuna heaved a long sigh of relief, feeling like his lifespan had shortened by at least a few years from this encounter. Giotto watched his brother's pale face with concern. "You okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Tsuna shook his head before answering once he'd calmed down a bit. "N-no, I'm fine. And t-thanks for coming." He honestly thought he would've been dead meat if the blonde didn't come in time. He hadn't been that scared since the times in school where Hibari threatened to bite him and his friends to death for crowding and whatnot.

Giotto gave a small, relieved smile and then he saw the cup of coffee Tsuna was holding. "Are you going to lunch?"

"Err, yeah, I…overslept…"

"Oh, Hibari did say you went back to your room because you were tired."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, so Hibari went back to Giotto's office after carrying him to his room? It was awkward and tense enough with the three of them in one place, he couldn't even imagine what it would've been like with just the two. "Speaking of which, where is Hibari-san?"

The blonde shrugged and answered, "He left after saying that, I haven't seen him since."

"I see…" That was sort of to be expected. Tsuna guessed the skylark probably went to somewhere secluded to sleep or might have started digging around on his own. He only hoped Hibari didn't bite to death anyone out of boredom or annoyance.

"Anyway," Giotto's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and looked back up to him. "Should we get going? Your food is probably ready."

"R-right…" Tsuna nodded, he'd almost forgotten about that. And when they started walking towards the dining room together, he remembered something else. "H-have you eaten, Giotto?"

"Lunch was an hour ago so yes, I've eaten. But I figure I'll keep you company, that is, if you don't mind."

The younger male shook his head. After his talk with Hibari, Tsuna felt a lot better and nowhere as edgy as before about spending time with Giotto so of course he wouldn't mind. They arrived at the dining room soon after and predictably, a couple of maids were already waiting at the table with his food since Tsuna was delayed by his not-so-pleasant encounter with Xanxus. Sitting down in a chair at one end of the long table, he mumbled a few word of thanks as a plate of still steaming hot pasta was placed in front of him while Giotto took a seat opposite. The maids poured a cup of tea for their boss before leaving the two to themselves.

A few mouthfuls of delicious pasta later, Tsuna looked up from his lunch to ask about something he had been wondering about. "Um…d-did I do something to offend Xanxus earlier?"

"Hmm?" Giotto blinked, a bit surprised by the question before setting the teacup in his hand down. "Oh, no, it's not your fault at all. Though Xanxus would certainly beg to differ," the blonde answered after a few seconds. He could only think of one single reason why the man would have something against his brother so early after meeting him, aside from the fact that he pretty much hated anyone and everyone anyway. "Actually, he hates both of us."

"Huh? W-why?"

"As I said before, the candidate to become the future Decimo is chosen by the External Advisor, our father, and Vongola Nono, Xanxus's…adoptive father. But don't say that to him though, he'll really shoot you, it's meant to be a secret that only a few knows. Anyway, his lifelong ambition is to become Vongola Decimo, so you can imagine how he felt when neither Dad nor Nono chose him. Add in his personality and you have _that, _an extreme grudge against both of us. My guardians and I had a large conflict over the Vongola rings with the Varia a few years back, but luckily everything had settled down now.

"A-and Xanxus still works for you?"

Giotto almost snickered at that. The day Xanxus worked for him would be the day the apocalypse arrived. "Not at all, the Varia is independent and they themselves request missions from me when they're bored out of their minds or something like that. Otherwise, I doubt they would ever listen to me. In fact, most, maybe even all, of them refuse to acknowledge anyone but Xanxus as Decimo."

Tsuna resisted the urge to shudder, now he really did _not _want that position. Getting (further) onto the Varia's bad side did not sound like a good idea if you still wanted to live. Giotto noticed his fear and gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, as long as you stay out of his way and don't do anything to tick him off, there isn't going to be anything beside a few insults here and there. And no one here is going to let him hurt you," it seemed to have worked and the brunet visibly relaxed a little. Deciding that that was enough about Xanxus, Giotto changed to another subject. "By the way, I'm glad we're talking to each other normally again. I was beginning to think _I _did something wrong."

Tsuna was taken by surprise because of the words. So Giotto was aware of his strange behavior after all. But with the way he was acting, who wouldn't? "S-sorry, I-I had a lot on my mind before…" He replied with a small smile. It wasn't entirely a lie, he did have a lot to think about.

Giotto responded by reaching over the table to ruffle his hair, glad that they were back on good terms. "It's perfectly okay. But just so you know, you can talk to me about anything that's bothering you at anytime."

Tsuna nodded and let out a low sigh, wishing that it was that easy.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry. *sigh* Life is getting so busy now and it's just the first week of school, it's not going to be pretty when exams roll in… Anyways, so the poll closes with Hibari on 12 and Giotto 14 so it's G27. Some people suggested 1827G, I might think about it 'cause *laughs awkwardly* I love 1827… *looks above* I believe it's still 1827 month so I guess that's my entry for the month. XD And as of today, I've been obsessed with KHR for one year and still fangirling as hard as ever! XD **

**Review Reply:**

**BrokenBlackKat: …I'm not even gonna say happy new year again when it's Feb. XD There you go, the result! :) Hahaha, I had to add them in sooner or later. XD Kufufufu, no spoilers~ :P You just have to wait and find out~**

**Chibi Sasori: And you no longer have to decide. :D *pats* I know…**

**Animebaka14: I'm sorry. OTL Lol, I'll run the moment I see the Varia. XD**

**Dremagon: Guess you're happy with the result. ^^ **

**Delcielosintonia: Well, here's more. XD 1827 lost OTL Not that I'm not happy for G27 of course…**

**NFGdP: Yep, they're here. XD Lol, I agree, it's sort of a guilty pleasure to read about. XD**

**Final Syai Lunar Generation: Aww, you can't blame Hibari~ Yep, the irony. XD Hahaha, Reborn always has been a sadist. XD He won't be needing hearing aids yet…give or take a few days. XD Sounds like you're happy now, it was pretty close though. ^^ Elena? No spoilers~ Well, I would recommend reading the first chapter since it's basically about the case. Lol, KHR IS full of smexy guys. XD No! The cute tuna is mine! *hugs Tsuna***

**Anna2772: Hahaha, I also like many pairings. But don't say you like all pairings if you have an evil friend, I learned that the hard way thanks to Daylite. XD **

**HeretiCeylann: Aww, thank you! :D Lol, so many people who can't choose. XD**

**Aira-Chama: Lol, Hibari is coming after you. XD**

**Katika101: Good to know you're still reading after this then…^^ That's an interesting idea. XD**

**XSkyeStarlX: Hahahaha, I get you, I'll be the leader of that rabid fangirl pack. XD No spoilers~ But yeah, I should start the plot soon…**

**WaiiKitsune: Lol, I don't think many policemen have good impressions of Mafia. XD Aww, thank you so much for the awesome comments! You're not late, just in time for the update. XD **

**Okay, done, thank you everyone for all the reviews/faves/alerts! I love you guys! Now, what's the next occasion…happy early Valentine's Day? XD See you next time! (Gotta get to school….)**


	8. Chapter 8

**O. M. G How the hell did three months pass already? OTL I can't say sorry enough for the lateness, but I really HAVE been busy recently. Five tests in one week and endless homework. There is ALWAYS something due just around the corner. OTL If this is start of senior years, I don't want to see next year…Anyways, again, I'm very sorry for the lateness, so here it is…please enjoy…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

Chapter 8

After the lunch with Giotto, the rest of the day went by quite uneventfully. Tsuna spent most of that time doing paperwork together with his brother in his office. He quickly learned that being a mafia boss wasn't like in the movies where all the boss did was drink, smoke, go to meetings for shady trades at bars, play poker and so on. In fact, 80% of the job seemed to be paperwork, the other twenty was meeting, dealing with guardians and other matters. In conclusion, it wasn't much different from what Tsuna went through every day in Namimori, just on a larger, much more hectic, scale. But that didn't mean he was any closer to liking the title mafia boss though.

On another note, Tsuna was fortunate enough to have not meet Xanxus or anyone else from Varia ever since the rounding-the-corner incident. He couldn't be happier about that, one could only take so many near-death experiences in one day without being traumatized after all. But much to his dismay, Giotto had confirmed that the Varia was still somewhere in the mansion, deciding to stay for the night for god knows why.

It was even worse when the Varia also decided to join everyone else for dinner. Needless to say, that didn't end very well. The only bright side was that both Hibari and Alaude went back to their rooms the moment they heard the decision. It started with a _very _awkward dinner in an extremely tense atmosphere. Then Belphegor said something to Squalo that made him snap, Fran added fuel to the fire and everything went downhill from there. It happened like dominoes falling, starting from Squalo, then G, Gokudera, Mukuro (hit by a potato thrown by Squalo that was aimed at G), Levi and finally, Xanxus. From that dinner, Tsuna witnessed first-hand as to why Giotto had so many damage bills on his plate. The brunet wisely excused himself and dragged his friends out of there the moment his right-hand man pulled out dynamites.

Leaving the chaos in the dining room, the group decided to hang out in Tsuna's room and maybe talk about the day since it was only 8 at night. Opening the door and turning on the lights, Tsuna almost shrieked when he saw two figures already in the room. It turned out to be Hibari leaning against a wall and Reborn sitting comfortably on his bed. "Chaos, Dame-Tsuna." The hitman greeted casually while Hibari remained in silence.

"Reborn, stop going into my room as you like, same to you, Hibari-san," the brunet complained with a sigh, constantly being startled was not fun. "And Reborn, I haven't seen you all day, where were you?"

"You sound like a jealous lover, missed me that much, Dame-Tsuna?"

"What? No way! Stop teasing me!" On the contrary, Tsuna would love it if his sadistic ex-tutor took a day off once in a while and cut him some slacks. "Are you going to give me a real answer or not?"

"I told you on the jet, I have some business to take care of for you lot. I went to see Talbot for your new weapons," Reborn paused and removed the red cloth beside him on the bed that Tsuna hadn't noticed before, revealing five large ores with different colors similar to Dying Will Flames. "These are what are left of the ores the Vongola rings were made from. If you lot have enough resolve, they'll invoke into the weapons that are suitable for you."

Tsuna was about to reach out for the orange ore, but stopped when he remembered something. "Hang on, why are you giving us something so important when I haven't said anything about joining the mafia for real?"

Reborn pulled his fedora downwards a bit while rolling his eyes, tempted to shoot his ex-student for still being in denial. Well, they still had plenty of time anyway. "We still don't know how long we're staying here for, so it's best to be equipped like everyone else. Not to mention you're staying with the Vongola, one of the most powerful Family around. They might have a lot of allies, but also a lot of enemies. You'll never know when you have to defend yourself." The hitman smirked when Hibari had already grabbed the purple ore while he was talking.

Tsuna glared at his ex-tutor for a bit more before resigning and picking up the orange one, the other three males did the same, taking the ores with their respective flame colors.

A moment of intense silence followed after that. It seemed like an eternity had passed when the ores finally reacted almost simultaneously. Lights of various colors shone brilliantly, almost blindingly, in the room. A few seconds later, that lights dimmed and gradually faded away, revealing the five males looking a bit confused at the new objects in their possession.

On Tsuna's middle finger now was a strange ring with a chain connecting to another ring. Gokudera had a belt, Yamamoto a necklace, Hibari a bracelet and Mukuro earrings. All of the equipment bore an X with the words 'Vongola Famiglia'.

"R-Reborn, what happened?" Tsuna asked and looked up from examining the ring. "I-I thought you said you were giving us weapons."

Reborn shrugged, flicking his fedora upwards, there was a smirk of satisfaction on his lips at the fact that they did have the resolve to invoke the gears. "Talbot mentioned something about them taking the forms that will suit you the most, those are Vongola Gears that double as your Box Weapons as well as power up your weapons when you're in offensive mode. But don't use it now, I wouldn't put it past any of you to destroy this room," the hitman stepped away from the bed and began walking towards the door. "Well, my job's done here, goodnight. And your training with the guardians start tomorrow."

Confusion was still evident on Tsuna's face at that. "Huh? What training?" But Reborn was already gone, the door closing behind him almost soundlessly. The brunet glared at the door, cursing the older male and his vague explanations. He was wondering what to do next when he heard Gokudera snickering before laughing aloud. Tsuna turned around to face his right-hand man (who was still laughing while pointing at Mukuro) with a raised eyebrow.

"Those...earrings really do…suit you the most!" Gokudera managed to say to Mukuro between laughs. "They're even more girly than the baseball idiot's necklace and Hibari's bracelet! " Of course, the belt buckle shaped as a leopard suited Gokudera's taste perfectly fine.

Needless to say, Mukuro was not happy with the comment (and he was not going to admit he actually didn't mind the earrings) and neither was Hibari at the insult. And so, Tsuna couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu as he saw the fight broke out in his room. He was stuck with trying to stop the three from killing each other and ultimately destroy the room in the process. "G-guys! I-if you're gonna fight, at least do it outside!"

One epic fight, two broken windows, three smashed flower pots, four cracks in the wall and ten minutes later, Tsuna managed to get all of the four to stop making a scene and leave him to clean up in peace.

* * *

The rest of that night was thankfully monotonous and soon, breakfast rolled around. Said breakfast was held in the garden outside under the excuse that it was a very nice day, too nice to be spent eating indoors. The main reason was, of course, that the main dining room was under reconstruction and Giotto wasn't going to let the spare rooms suffer the same fate.

Sitting at the seat to the right of Giotto, G gave each member of the Varia at the other side of the table a death glare that clearly translated to 'why the hell are you still here'. Predictably, Xanxus, sitting in his own throne-like chair with Levi fanning at the back, ignored him completely while waiting for the steak he'd ordered Squalo to get.

The entire meal was just as awkward as last night's despite Yamamoto, Knuckle, Lussuria and any other happy-go-lucky person's attempt to brighten up the mood. Some of the said attempts even served to make certain people become even more irritated. Most people ate their breakfast while being on edge and constantly looking both ways for any sign of flying foods. The Varia was the first to finish and left together to god knows where.

As soon as they had set their knives and forks down, Tsuna and his friends were told by Reborn to head back to their rooms and change to something more appropriate for training. Tsuna still wasn't sure what type of "training" his ex-tutor meant, but it definitely was going to be Spartan. Ten minutes or so later, Tsuna was standing outside of his room wearing a plain white t-shirt with blue track pants and orange sport shoes, hoping that these would be suitable. He would've liked to go to this training with his friends, but Reborn had directed them to different areas. Yes, he gave them full instructions on how to get there, but still won't say what the trainings were about. With a sigh, Tsuna started making his way towards the so-called training room.

Said training room was not an easy place to find. He'd had to walk to the far back of the mansion where another small building was located, and the building turned out to only have a staircase leading down to an elevator. The elevator then went down underground pass _twelve_ levels before finally stopping with a 'ding' at the appointed training room. And when Tsuna had arrived at last, he definitely wasn't expecting being about to be burnt alive by a huge blast of Dying Will Flames.

He instinctively shrieked and dropped to the ground, praying to the gods that the blast would miss…seconds passed after he'd shut his eyes and he still didn't feel any pain or anything else whatsoever. But there was impact, he could hear it. Was death supposed be painless? Curiosity getting the better of him, Tsuna gingerly looked up while still crouching on the floor to take a peek with one eye. And then he gaped. The bright blast of flame had disappeared and he couldn't see anything ahead as a black cloak and its owner was covering his vision.

"You okay?" Giotto asked calmly while flicking his coat back and holding out a hand to help the brunet up, there was concern and a bit of guilt in his voice.

Tsuna could only nod and took the hand blankly, letting himself be pulled up to standing position while still in a daze. Of course he was surprised that his brother had saved him, but that wasn't the most shocking. The first thing to have amazed him was Giotto's change of appearance. A brilliant Dying Will Flame with Sky attribute burned brightly on the blonde's forehead and the two gloved hands were also covered in the same flame. Giotto's eyes were orange, almost the same shade as the core of the flames, and they were just as mesmerizing and beautiful as the usual sky blue ones.

"Tsunayoshi?" Giotto called again with growing concern when his brother still hadn't said anything.

Tsuna jumped and quickly snapped out of his stupor, blushing a bit when he realized he'd been caught staring at the blonde. "I-I'm okay…um…w-what's happening in here?"

"Xanxus." It was a very short answer, but it explained pretty much everything.

A gunshot was heard right on cue. Giotto took a big step to the side and pulled Tsuna with him, another blast destroyed the spot they'd been standing on a split second later, leaving behind a large crater with smoke still rising. The Decimo turned to glare at Xanxus, who returned the gesture with twice the ferocity.

Xanxus, who had clearly ran out of patience, barely acknowledged Tsuna's presence and pointed both guns at the two, already channeling his flame into them. Knowing that Tsuna was obviously in danger as long as they were standing together, Giotto propelled himself off the ground using the flames on his gloves and started flying around the room at very high speed, Tsuna could barely follow his movements. Xanxus continued shooting at Giotto creating even more craters in the walls.

"Took you long enough, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said from the side, startling the brunet. "Xanxus decided to drop by and they started fighting while waiting for you." He explained when Tsuna was just about to voice the question.

"How long had they been fighting for?"

"Not long after you left the table."

"Oh…" That explained the damage to the room and Tsuna understood why the training rooms were located quite a distance from the mansion _and _was underground. "Shouldn't we stop them?" Tsuna asked and yelped as yet another of Xanxus's shots narrowly missed his head.

"Why? You want to be Giotto's replacement? If so, be my guest."

"What?! No!" Tsuna shuddered at the thought of being at the other end of those guns' barrels, he wouldn't last even a minute.

"Then shut up and watch, maybe you'll learn something."

Since he didn't have any other option, none that wouldn't end with him ending up dead or in the emergency room anyway, Tsuna retreated to the side with Reborn to wait until Giotto and Xanxus end the fight by themselves. Sometime later, Tsuna was left awestruck as he watched the Decimo's maneuvers, which were much more graceful than Xanxus's. The well-aimed kicks and punches and the way the blonde managed to predict the opponent's attacks and evade them at the right moments were just amazing. And Tsuna couldn't help but wonder how Giotto can move so effortlessly while still dressed in the entire business suit, cloak included. Though the cloak did prove to be useful as Giotto was actually occasionally using it to shield himself from Xanxus's shots.

Beside Tsuna, Reborn was also observing the fight, with a smirk hidden underneath his fedora. It's been years since he'd last seen Giotto in action, and there was obviously a vast improvement. The blonde could now keep up with Xanxus easily, and it was clear that he was actually holding back somewhat. There had been plenty of chances for him to use other powerful techniques, but Giotto had chosen to use only close-range combat since this was only a spar and he didn't have a reason to seriously go all-out against Xanxus, though the latter was certainly still out for his blood. Seeing how far his ex-student had come, Reborn couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. All that was left was Tsuna and…his other useless ex-student. _Right, almost forgot about that guy. _The hitman made a silent note to ask Giotto about how Dino was doing. Now, back to the matter at hand…

Reborn looked down to his watch to check the time. The two had been fighting for a good hour and a half. It seemed like a good time to interrupt, and the room didn't look like it was going to last much longer. Reaching up to the top of his fedora, Reborn let Leon crawled into his palm and transformed into his gun. Strong Sun flame was shot at Giotto and Xanxus, who both separated to different ends of the room to evade the attack, letting it create another crater in the wall. The room shook dangerously in protest, threatening to crumble down at any moment.

"What do you want?"Xanxus growled, turning towards Reborn, obviously not happy with the interruption.

"Just thought that's enough for the day, we're already behind schedule. And if you shoot one more time, there's a good chance we'll all be buried alive." Reborn explained calmly, unfazed by the glare aimed at him and the entire situation.

Xanxus didn't seem convinced, or seemed to care about the threat, but eventually clicked his tongue in annoyance and returned the guns to their holsters with a scowl. "This isn't over, trash." He muttered to Giotto before stomping towards the entrance of the room.

Tsuna flinched and took a big step out of the way when a dark glare was directed as him as the man walked pass. He had a feeling that the look meant he was also going to be involved in the next fight, whenever that might be. Shaking off the depressing feeling that was developing, Tsuna turned his attention to Giotto worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Giotto answered and noticed Tsuna eyeing a few burns, bruises and some charred spots on the expensive suit. He smiled gently as the Dying Will Flames died down, the fiery orange eyes returning to sky blue. "These are nothing, really. I've been through worse with Xanxus." As for the minor injuries, he could get Knuckle to heal them.

Tsuna turned to look around the practically destroyed room in disbelief. This _is nothing?! _The Decimo followed his gaze and sighed. "G's going to kill me, if the paperwork doesn't do the job first anyway."

"Considering that he's paired up with Gokudera, he's not going to be in any position to complain." Reborn commented, walking casually towards the two.

"And why is that?"

"They use Storm flames. They're both hotheads. Gokudera has dynamites. Need any more reasons?"

"No, that's plenty." And so he had more paperwork, joy.

"Now, as I just said before, we have a schedule to get back to."

"We had a schedule?" Tsuna joined in. "Oh right, the training…" He paled instantly at the realization. Reborn wasn't seriously going to make him fight Xanxus…right?

Giotto chuckled at the look of pure horror on his brother's face, already correctly guessing what the other was thinking of. "Don't worry, we're not asking you to do the impossible, that would just be suicidal. You'll be training with me," a simple training session with his brother without a Spartan tutor and his insane methods or a scary mafioso out for his blood, that idea couldn't be more reassuring and Tsuna felt relief washed over him. "Let's move to another room first, just to be safe."

A short walk through some corridors led the three to an unoccupied training room that was about the same size as the other one and was still spotlessly clean. After examining the room, Tsuna turned to Giotto and Reborn, wondering what would come next. The blonde understood the look and began speaking, "Well, I guess first I have to explain a few things. I'm sure you would've noticed before when I was fighting Xanxus that there was Dying Will Flame on my forehead and my eyes were orange. That is the Hyper Dying Will Mode, something that is unique to those with Vongola blood, same with Hyper Intuition. Now, usually we would start with Dying Will Mode first before Hyper, but in case you haven't realized, Reborn had been training you physically for the past few years to be strong enough to handle Hyper Mode so we'll give it a shot. We'll go slow, but I'm sure you'll figure things out very quickly since you also have Hyper Intuition and the best way to learn these things is through experience."

By this time, Tsuna was still quite unsure of what to do, but decided to go with the flow, he could ask questions later. And then, something occurred to him. "Wait, what about this?" He pointed to the Vongola Gear on his finger.

"Is that the Vongola Gear Reborn was talking about? Interesting form. But for now, we'll focus on getting you used to the Hyper Mode and the basics, we'll get to Box Weapons later. By the way, what sort of weapon do you use?"

"These," Before Tsuna could answer, Reborn interrupted as if he had been waiting for them to get to that topic and threw something over to Tsuna. The brunet raised an eyebrow when he saw that what he'd caught was a pair of white mittens with the number '27' on it. He frowned and looked towards the hitman. "No, it is not a joke, Dame-Tsuna. They're made by Leon specifically for you and can withstand Dying Will Flame, just wear them."

The younger male just sighed, muttered a 'fine' under his breath and put on the mittens despite how weird it felt to do so. After what he'd learned about the mafia, mittens made by a shape-shifting chameleon that were useful in battle really weren't that surprising. "Then, how exactly do I get into Hyper Mode?"

"Ah, you should be able to just do it naturally after some time, but for now, I guess you will need Dying Will Pills. But, unfortunately, we don't have any here at the moment so…" Blue eyes turned to Reborn and Tsuna followed the gaze, suddenly having a feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Reborn said smugly, tilting his fedora back with the barrel of his gun, a gun that was already loaded with its safety off. Then, the gun was aimed at the brunet and a shot was heard.

Tsuna barely had the time to register the fact that Reborn had actually pulled the trigger and shot him when the bullet hit him square on the forehead. He fell backwards from the shock, but was caught by Giotto before he could land on the hard ground and possibly gain a concussion. Strangely enough, he expected to feel some pain before death, but nothing came. Instead, a few seconds later, Tsuna felt an odd sense of calmness enveloped him and actually regained consciousness. Muttering a 'thanks' to his brother, the brunet pushed himself back onto his feet.

It was then that he noticed the material around his hands didn't feel like soft wool anymore. Instead, Tsuna realized that the mittens were now red gloves that were much sturdier and had the same design on the back as the Vongola Ring Ver Vongola Gear. Remembering what Giotto said about the changes in appearance when he was in Hyper Mode, Tsuna reached up to his forehead out of curiosity. Sure enough, the gloved hand was enveloped in Dying Will Flame while he didn't feel any heat at all. Instead of freaking out like he normally would, the brunet calmly examined the flame and gloves once more before looking at Reborn and Giotto in question.

"Congratulations, you managed to get into Hyper Mode. That was a type of Dying Will bullet, by the way," Reborn said smugly, blowing smoke from the gun barrel, ignoring the glare sent by his student. "And it looks like the gloves are working perfectly, you should be able to fight with them just fine. Well, I've done my part." The hitman shrugged and walked to stand on the sideline, signaling Giotto to take over.

The blonde nodded and moved to stand in front of Tsuna, giving his brother an encouraging smile. Even though he knew Reborn wasn't using a real bullet, he was still relieved that Tsuna wasn't hurt and that there wasn't any problem. After all, being shot with a Dying Will bullet without any regret can lead to death. Looking at Tsuna in Hyper Mode, Giotto must admit, he looked good. The honey-colored eyes were now narrower and in a shade of brilliant orange. There was an air of confidence and strength around him, making Tsuna seemed like a completely different person. It was hard to choose which version was more preferable, the normal Tsuna or this, but Giotto pushed that thought to the back of his head before he got carried away – this was a training session.

"Okay, let's not waste anymore time. Fortunately, you also use gloves like me, that'll make things much easier. For now, I'll teach you how to control those gloves and your flames. Once you've got the basics down, we'll practice sparring."

Tsuna nodded silently, waiting patiently for the next instruction or explanation.

* * *

Sometime later, after hours spent in the training room, Tsuna was walking back to his room. Once in a while, he would flinch and grimace a bit and looked down to all the bruises on his arms; no doubt there were plenty on his legs and torso as well. He was completely exhausted, using Dying Will Flame was much more tiring than he'd expected, and crashing into walls multiple times while flying at high speed didn't help either. But on the bright side, according to Giotto, he was improving and learning very quickly, Hyper Intuition probably played a big part in that.

At the thought of his brother, Tsuna couldn't help but smile. Despite him being in a whole lot of pain right now, the training was actually somewhat fun and he wouldn't mind doing it again. Giotto was very helpful, encouraging and a great teacher overall. If only Reborn was like him…the brunet shuddered at the thought, rejecting it immediately, Reborn acting like that was just plain scary.

As he passed by a window, Tsuna spotted Yamamoto in the garden below with Giotto's Rain Guardian, Asari Ugetsu. Judging by the swords on the ground beside them, the two seemed to be taking a break. The brunet wasn't the least bit surprised to see Yamamoto chatting animatedly and laughing with Asari, it was only natural for people like them to get along so easily. Just as Tsuna wondered how his other friends were doing while reaching for the doorknob to his room, there was a small explosion in the library's direction. The brunet sighed and entered his room, he had a strong feeling that had something to do with Gokudera, it always did.

After a very refreshing and much-needed shower, Tsuna managed a quick nap before his friends came to his room for a visit again. They were all covered in some sort of injuries, such as bruises, small cuts here and there, etc. Hibari had by far the most injuries, but he looked perfectly satisfied, no doubt from being able to have a good fight. They began discussing on the training session, eager to find out what each other had done.

Apparently, Gokudera and G had worked together and invented a very complicated and useful system of Box Weapons, but it was not complete yet so the silveret didn't reveal much else. Yamamoto had help from Asari to improve his sword skills and already had some ideas for some new techniques. Daemon and Mukuro worked on making even more powerful illusions, the latter had offered to demonstrate, which Tsuna humbly rejected. Lastly, Hibari and Alaude just sparred the entire time. The fight would've gone on still until the victor was determined, but Giotto and Reborn had stopped them because it was getting too late and of course, the damage they were causing.

A few minutes later, Knuckle stopped by the room and offered to heal them, which was greatly appreciated. Tsuna watched in awe as the injuries healed at an amazing speed, everyone had completely recovered in a matter of minutes. He made a note to have the Sun Guardian or Reborn teach Ryohei how to do that, it would definitely be a useful skill to have, especially in their profession. After that, they all went to dinner together. Surprisingly, it was very peaceful, probably because almost everyone needed a good meal after the entire day of training. The Varia had left as spontaneously as when they had decided to visit, much to many people's relief and joy. When the pleasantly uneventful dinner was over, everyone went their own ways, either returning to their rooms, offices or just remained in the dining room to chat.

...

Later that same night, in a private study room, a man was leaning against the fireplace of the room as he read some papers that were in hand. The room was dimly lit with the fire as the only light source. After a few more minutes of reading with seemingly little interest, the man threw the papers into the fireplace. "So they're already here, how troublesome," he said calmly aloud, more to himself than to the subordinates standing silently by the doors. "To think the Arcobaleno Reborn would help bringing them over here, what a traitor to the mafia. Whatever, none of them will get in my way." The man concluded and walked out of the room, disappearing into one of the numerous unlit hallways while the papers containing information on Sawada Tsunayoshi and company continued to burn to ashes, leaving no proof that they were even there.

**A/N: And that is chapter 8! It's a little longer than the last chapters...I think. XD I hope it was okay...**

**Review Replies: (I should just start using PM's to reply quicker...)**

**PrideViola: Thanks for reading! Yes, meeting Xanxus and spilling hot drinks on him is a death sentence. XD**

**Final Syai Lunar Generation: Aww, thanks! You should definitely read the first chapter, it's not too long and basically about the case they're working on. :) Hahaha, Tsuna is always adorable and Giotto and Hibari are hot~ XD The plot just developed a bit in this chapter! Yay! XD**

**Animebaka14: Thanks for reading! Yes, I'm still alive, barely, but still. XD**

**BrokenBlackCat: Thank you for reading! Yep, we all know Hibari has a secret soft side. XD ...*coughs* Hahaha, I do tend to write 1827... XD**

**WaiiKitsune: Thanks for the review and reading! Hibari can be sweet when he wants to~ XD And now you know where Reborn went. :D Tsuna is always oblivious, but I love him for it. XD Hahaha, all of my friends on here would know I'm already cracky. XD **

**Miraki-chan: Why does people keep saying they love and hate me at the same time?! Haha, it's okay. XD Aww, thanks for the awesome comments! Wow, don't stay up late too often! This is incredibly late, but it is chapter 8, thank you for reading, I hope you're still following. :) And yes, 1827 is totally canon!**

**Polar Pig: Thanks for the review! Yeah, I'm not very good at summaries...I hope I can put in a lot of action and stuff into the story...*cough* random 1827 scenes. XD Favoritism...XD**

**Charm13insomnia: Thanks for reading, I'm glad you're liking the story! We'll see, we'll see...XD I prefer long chapters than short ones as well. I always try to make the chapters around 4 to 5k, but sometimes it ends up about 3.5 OTL **

**Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing, it always makes me so happy to read the reviews. :) Again, I'm really sorry for how late this is... I'll try my best this time to update faster, but hard to say when midyear exams are two weeks or so away...crap. On another note, a belated happy birthday to Hibari! If anyone is interested, I did post a birthday fic on May 5, though it is angst and stuff...**

**That's it, thanks for reading and see you guys next time!**


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